


Harry Potter and the Triwizard Tournament

by AmeliaDarkholme



Series: Harry Potter and the Godfathers [4]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: F/M, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-20
Updated: 2020-09-04
Packaged: 2021-03-04 05:40:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 49,632
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24818533
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AmeliaDarkholme/pseuds/AmeliaDarkholme
Summary: Harry was turning fourteen now. He was officially a big boy. Things seemed to get better too, now with Sirius back home. And there was also the Quidditch World Cup, so he was pretty positive that for the first time ever, he would have a relatively fun and stress-free year. Or so he thought.
Relationships: Cedric Diggory/Luna Lovegood, Draco Malfoy & Harry Potter, Harry Potter/Ginny Weasley, Hermione Granger & Draco Malfoy & Harry Potter & Ron Weasley, Hermione Granger & Harry Potter & Ron Weasley, Hermione Granger/Draco Malfoy, Luna Lovegood & Ginny Weasley, Nymphadora Tonks/Charlie Weasley, Percy Weasley/Oliver Wood, Regulus Black & Sirius Black, Remus Lupin & Harry Potter, Remus Lupin/Dorcas Meadowes, Sirius Black & Harry Potter, Sirius Black & Remus Lupin, Sirius Black & Remus Lupin & Harry Potter, Sirius Black/Marlene McKinnon
Series: Harry Potter and the Godfathers [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1336825
Comments: 49
Kudos: 29





	1. Secrets Revealed

**Author's Note:**

> This is the fourth installment of the series, and it's set during Harry's fourth year.

_"Hello, Mar. Sorry it took me this long to contact you. I didn't have a wand with me, and trying to steal one was simply impossible in my condition. But I'm okay now. I'm staying with Bathilda Bagshot at the moment. I can't go home yet because Professor Bagshot thinks I'll probably kill myself if I insist on going back home now. But at least I'm fine, right? I promise I'll get home as soon as I can. I'm eating all my vegetables so hopefully, it'll speed up my recovery. Tell Remus that if he's coming, he has to tell me first about it because I don't want him coming here with thirty Aurors that would scare not only Professor Bagshot, but also the Muggles around here… I'm sure by now everyone's gathered around. Hello there! I can't wait till I can finally see you all again. I miss you guys, all of you. Until later, everyone. I love you."_

Harry was having a nightmare when Remus practically carried him off his bed to listen to Sirius' Patronus that had just arrived. It was still early in the morning, probably around four. In his dream, he was in a small, dingy cabin. It wasn’t until he woke up that he realised he was seeing things through another person's eyes. The man was eyeing up the huge house across his. With a lantern in hand, he ventured out to the house when he saw light coming out from one of the windows. He heard voices. They were talking about murder. Chills ran down the man's spine when he heard that the voices planned on killing a _boy._ He was just about to run away when he accidentally slipped, making loud noises that alerted everyone of his presence. The last thing he knew was green light coming toward him, and then Harry was woken up.

Even though he was still a little groggy, the moment Remus mentioned Sirius' name, Harry was fully awake at once. The Gryffindor ran toward Marlene's room with the werewolf behind him, and found everyone was already there. He saw how tears fell profusely down his Godmother's face, saw that Regulus had tears as well. He didn't even realise it when his feet had pulled him toward Marlene, ending up with him sitting beside the woman so he could hold her while she cried her eyes out. Hearing Sirius' voice after a year made the boy realise just how much he missed his Godfather. Before he knew it, Harry was crying as well. When the message ended, Marlene burst into tears, burying her face in Harry's messy hair. Everyone cried in happiness as they realised their beloved Sirius was coming home to them.

"I told you he'd come back," Harry whispered to Marlene. "I told you, Mar."

"I know, love," Marlene said in return, smiling through her tears.

With the news regarding Sirius, Harry forgot about his dream. He was too busy being _happy,_ and spending a lot of time with the babies as the adults in his house bustled around to prepare for his Sirius' return. They didn't even wait until morning properly came to do their work. Remus immediately Flooed Dumbledore, telling him everything, before he sent a Patronus to Moody to alert the Head Auror that he was coming the old man's house - lest he got hexed to bits. Marlene also told her fellow Senior Ministers that her fiancé was coming back, but also making sure that the news wouldn't go out to the public until Sirius had really come back home. Dorcas told her Healers to prepare the best medication that could help Sirius in case he had serious injuries, knowing that the Auror was prone to getting critically injured. Regulus told his wife to ready the Elves with a small welcoming feast for his brother, while he went to tell Lucius Malfoy and Kingsley Shacklebot the news. It was almost a week later when Harry remembered about the dream.

The first person he told about the dream was actually Irina. He had gotten so close with the former nurse and her husband that in a way, Harry had considered the couple his uncle and aunt of sort. He was with Irina one day, entertaining the babies after their nap time. They were talking about all sorts of things when Irina told him that five years ago, she wouldn't have believed magic was real. She'd dreamed, and hoped that magic was real, just so she could do things right with her parents. That was when Harry accidentally blurted out about how he didn't usually have dreams, only memories and nightmares. He realised it too late that his statement made warning bells rang in Irina's head. The nurse then insisted on knowing when the last time was that he had a nightmare, totally convinced that Harry had some kind of PTSD because of his tragic childhood. She was persistent about it, and Harry had no choice but to tell her the truth. Easy to say, when Irina told Marlene and Dorcas about it, his Godmothers _flipped._ Then when the women told Remus and Regulus, those two also gave the same reaction, if not worse.

That was the reason why Harry and his family were heading to Number Four Privet Drive on Dumbledore's orders, a little over a week after Sirius' message, to visit _the Dursleys_. Remus didn't tell them why Dumbledore thought it was important to visit his mother's sister, except for the part that it would protect Harry. The boy couldn't help but to feel sceptical about it. What did Petunia Dursley and her family have to protect Harry better than the fort-like Black Manor? He thought Dumbledore had gone mad for suggesting such a thing. But he kept it to himself, and grudgingly agreed to the visit. From what Marlene and the Lupins told him, the Dursleys were probaby the most unpleasant-( _"Unpleasant? Horrid is more accurate," Marlene had piped in when Remus tried to describe the family in his typical polite way_ )- people they'd ever known. They had never really met the Dursleys because Sirius was the only one who went with James and Lily when the couple went to see the family to announce that they were engaged. According to the Animagus, James nearly lost it when Petunia Dursley's husband Vernon insulted Lily.

"I still think this is a bad idea though," Regulus commented when they all stood in front of the Dursley's house, minus the babies because again, they were with Andromeda. Such serious matters couldn't be discussed with children around.

"Why is that, Reg?" Irina asked. She was admiring the flowers planted in the garden, making a note what they were so she could plant them back in the Manor's garden.

"Didn't Remus say that these people _hate_ everything that is related to magic? And here we are, four adult wizards with one teenage wizard, and _only_ one Muggle, coming into their _lovely_ home. I'd be surprised if they didn't call the bloody Muggle Aurors to arrest us."

"They're called the police, mate," Remus corrected. "And I have to admit that you're right. But Harry _wouldn't_ go if the lot of us didn't go."

"Hey, I think that's only fair," Harry protested. "You all asked me to go see the woman who made my mother's life hell, _just_ because she was jealous. No doubt she'd hate my very existence. I need all the support I can get from all of you."

"All right, we get it, Harry," Marlene said, giving a quick kiss to the boy's hair. "We're here with you, right? Now, let's just get this over with."

"Yeah. I'll ring the bell for all of us," Dorcas volunteered.

The Chief Healer had to ring the bell twice until they got some sort of response from the owners of the house. There was a grumpy shout from inside the house before the door was opened, revealing a large, beefy man with purple face that was almost as big as his body. He had dark hair that was already greying for most of the part, and bushy moustache. He wasn't very tall, probably only a little bit taller than Marlene, who was known to be taller than most of her female friends and colleagues. The moment he opened the door to them, his little blue eyes that were almost hidden because of all that fat in his face, flashed in barely repressed disgust at the sight of his 'guests'. Harry instantly decided that he hated Vernon Dursley. There was a minute of awkward silence before Vernon shuffled to the side, allowing Harry and his family to enter the room. From the corner of his eye, Harry saw how Vernon looked around his neighbourhood, as if to make sure that none of his neighbours saw the commotion. Judging from the look on Regulus' face, the Pureblood saw it as well. Harry was about to make a comment about it, when a woman came into the living room, with a mini-Vernon following behind her.

Although Marlene and the Lupins always talked about how different Petunia was compared to her sister, Harry was still sort of expecting her to look a little like his mother. He knew it was unlikely, but there was a little part of the Gryffindor that had hoped that he could see his mother in his aunt, no matter how small that part would be. But the truth was, Petunia was so very different than her sister. Harry always heard how his mother was quite possibly one of the most beautiful woman that Hogwarts had ever seen. His sister, however, was quite the opposite since Petunia was very plain and uninteresting to look at. While Lily was known for her dark red hair that added her beauty, Petunia had dull blonde hair. She didn't share Lily's green eyes and had pale blue eyes instead. Her neck was really long, and when she pursed her lips upon seeing Harry and his family, she rather resembled a horse. It was obvious that she disliked her guests' presence in her house, but she was wise enough to know that she was out-numbered. With a sour look on her face, the woman gestured for them to sit on the couch. There was quite a lengthy amount of silence until Remus broke it by introducing everyone.

"Thank you for accepting us to your house, Mrs Dursley," Remus continued politely, ever the good man that he was. "We really wouldn't have bothered you if it weren't an emergency."

"You have a lovely house," Dorcas added, following her husband's example. "Very neat."

"Enough with the small-talk already," Vernon snapped impatiently. "Just tell us why you came."

"You nasty, filthy Muggle," Regulus drawled menacingly. "Aren't you _just_ charming, you loathsome _filth_? My friends were being nice and _that's_ how you return their kindness?"

"Regulus, that's enough," Remus said quickly, and Harry couldn't help himself when he was reminded of his Godfather. The resemblance between Regulus and Sirius was intensified greatly during moments like this.

"We'll get to the point then, if that's what you want," Marlene said, her face showing the same distaste her brother-in-law was showing. "Remus, if you please."

"As you know, this is Harry," Remus began, pointing at the Gryffindor. "In case you miss the resemblance, he's Lily's son. So, biologically, he's Petunia's nephew – whether you like it or not."

" _I_ don't like it, personally," Harry quipped, unable to help himself.

"Harry, zip it," Dorcas reprimanded, sending a sharp look in his way. Feeling chastised, Harry shut up immediately.

"Thirteen years ago," the werewolf continued as if he had had no interruption. "Your sister and her husband, Harry's parents, were murdered by an evil wizard named Lord Voldemort. He was targeting little Harry, who he believed would be the reason for his downfall. James and Lily died protecting their son. I don't know whether you remember it or not, but I came here to deliver you the news of their deaths, with my best friend Sirius Black. You wouldn't allow us to come in and tell you about it properly though, so we had to leave a note. It was obvious that you didn't care that your sister had died, something we'd known all along."

Harry watched Petunia clench her jaw as if she was going to say something. But she didn't, and Remus kept on talking. "There was a wizard named Albus Dumbledore, whom we all trusted and believed very much, and he told us that it would be safer for Harry to live with you, because there's this kind of old magic that came from the sacrifice Lily made the night she died. The magic would protect Harry as long as he lives with Petunia, because you two share Lily's blood. But Sirius wouldn't have it, seeing that he's Harry legal guardian. In the end, Dumbledore relented, especially after he saw how heavily Sirius guarded his home."

"Then why did you come here?" Vernon asked. "Please don't tell me the boy's going to live with us. If he's wanted by some demented creep, I don't want him anywhere near my family."

" _Oh, for Merlin's sake!_ No one is interested in harming you or your family, you fat bastard," Regulus snapped. "Harry's not going to live with you. I doubt his Godparents are going to let him live with such horrible people, no matter how important it is."

"That's true," Marlene said, glaring fiercely at Vernon. "The purpose of our visit is only to tell you that every summer, for a day, Harry's going to come here to renew the protection he has. Voldemort is getting stronger, and as much as I hate to say this, the wards in our home are getting weaker too. This is the only way Harry's going to be safe. Ideally, he _does_ have to live with you. But I think we all agree that it's not going to happen. No worries, though. This is only until he turns seventeen, when he reaches adulthood. Then we will never have to see you again."

"How long does he have to stay here for every visit?" Petunia said, making a sound for the first time since the visit. "Does he have to stay for the whole day?"

"If he can stand it, then yes," Remus said flatly, ignoring the look Harry threw in his way. "But the very least he's going to stay for five hours."

"One," Harry said, rounding his eyes in the same way his father always did. Unfortunately, just like it was with James, Remus happened to be the only one who was immune to the look.

" _Three,"_ the werewolf said in a final tone. Harry rolled his eyes, knowing that he'd lost.

"And _don't_ even think of giving him grief during his visits," Dorcas added, adopting the same flat tone Remus had. "He's going to have someone with him to make sure _everyone_ is behaving. Irina here is a Mug – non-magic folk like you. So it's a win-win solution for all, right? Harry has protection with him, and you still feel comfortable in your own home."

"But make no mistake," Regulus said, eyes narrowed threateningly. "If you hurt _my_ wife, I'm going to _hurt you._ And if you run away, I'll hunt you down to the end of the world, and make you wish you'd never been born."

When both Vernon and Petunia paled, Harry decided that he liked the look of pure fear in their faces. Between them, their son who Harry was told named Dudley, looked just as scared as his parents were. For the longest time, everyone was silent. So when Petunia spoke, it came as a surprise to everyone.

"You were wrong, you know," she said, and her voice wavered a bit with emotion. "I do care about Lily. She's my sister. I _love_ her."

"You _abandoned_ her," Marlene spat, her brown eyes were burning in anger. "Do you know how many letters she sent to you? Even when she'd gone into hiding? _About two thousand, four hundred._ She sent one _every day_ since her first year in Hogwarts, until the day she was murdered by Voldemort. But you _never_ replied to her. You weren't there when she cried herself to sleep every night, waiting for your reply that never came. _I_ was there. _I_ was the one who saw how it broke her heart that you never replied to her."

" _I was a child!"_ Petunia said loudly, tears now falling down her face. "Yes, what I did wasn't good. Yes, I shouldn't have treated my sister that way. I did it all out of jealousy of my _perfect_ little sister who had _everything_ while I was left here, constantly being compared to her. Everyone always talked about how _horrible_ I was to Lily. But _no one_ ever stopped to think about how _I_ felt. I bet you'd never lived in someone's shadow, right? If you had, you'd understand why I did what I did."

"Look at what you've done to my wife," Vernon said angrily, his face turning an ugly shade of red. "She's crying because the lot – "

"Vernon, I'm not done," the blonde woman said, shutting up her husband completely. She was still eyeing Marlene coolly, who was glaring at her defiantly. "You don't know it, but I _did_ come to the funeral. I came alone to Godric's Hollow that day. No one knew about it, not even my husband. I was there when you lot came with my sister's body and her husband's. I tried to follow, but then there was a barrier that blocked me out. All I could see for the next two hours was people popping into the graveyard, and then disappearing as they passed an invisible portal. Because of you, I couldn't be there for my own sister's funeral."

"Yes, yes, what a sad story. We all feel _sorry_ for you, I'm sure," Marlene drawled sarcastically. "But it doesn’t change the fact that when Remus and my fiancé came to tell you about it, you flat out refused them. You didn't give a respond to the note they left. And if you say you had no idea how to reply, I'd blast your horse-face, woman. Lily told me you figured out how to send a letter to Dumbledore back when you were eleven."

"Your fiancé turned my Vernon into a _pig_ when I first met him," Petunia replied heatedly. "So excuse me if we were cautious when we saw him in our porch."

"Well, your husband insulted my best friend!"

"Because _her_ husband insulted me first!"

"James wouldn't do that unless provoked. I know him. No doubt your _darling_ Vernon said something that upset him greatly."

"And the note? What about the note?" Dorcas said quickly, to avoid more conflict.

Petunia pursed her lips. "Imagine yourself in my place. Someone who just turned your husband into a pig left you a note saying that your sister was dead. What would you do? Wouldn't you doubt it?"

"She has a point, you know," Irina said before Marlene could reply. "If I were her, I'd probably do the same thing."

For the second time that day, everyone fell silent. Both Marlene and Petunia looked like they were about to rip each other's hair out, with Dorcas ready to shoot a spell to stop them. This time, it was Remus who broke the silence, when he let out a heavy sigh as he pinched the bridge of his nose.

"All right then, Mrs Dursley. I'm sorry for saying that you don't care about Lily. Now, can we _please_ continue on a more important matter? Like, do you mind if Harry spends at least three hours here at your home every summer for a day?"

"Of _course,_ we bloody mind!" Vernon answered loudly, without missing a beat. "After you've just insulted my wife, now you're asking whether we _mind_ if you use our house as a hide-out? No thank you, sir. You can now leave."

"No," Petunia said, causing everyone to look at her in shock and disbelief. Even she herself looked surprised with her own decision. "The boy...the boy can come. But, _I_ want to be able to visit Lily's grave anytime I want to."

"No problem," Remus agreed easily. He grabbed two Galleons from his pocket, tapped his wand on both coins, and then gave one to Petunia. "That is a Galleon, a Wizarding coin. I put on a spell on it called the Protean Charm. Whenever you want to visit Lily's grave, you just need to write down the date and time on it, and they will appear on the coin I have. Then I'll send someone to take you to visit the grave. You don't have to worry about dirtying the coin though. The writing will disappear as soon as you’ve written it."

Petunia eyed the coin for sometime before she said, "C-can I try it? Just to make sure it works."

"Sure," Remus said, shrugging nonchalantly.

"Dudders, go get Mummy's pen," Petunia told her son, to which he quickly obeyed. For someone who was so large, Harry was amazed at how fast Dudley could move, returning not even a minute later. Petunia then wrote her name on the coin, and just like Remus said, it disappeared. The werewolf then showed the woman his coin, where her name was written on the surface.

"So, it's settled then?" Dorcas said when Petunia pocketed her coin. "Harry will come back here next year, probably around the middle of June, spending at least three hours here. Do we have an agreement?"

"Yes," Petunia answered stiffly.

"Very well. It's only been a little over two hours, but I guess that's enough for today," Remus said, lifting himself up from his seat. He was soon followed by everyone else. "Thank you for your hospitality, Mr and Mrs Dursley. We'll see you again next year."

Harry and his family had just gotten out of the house when Petunia called, "Harry?"

Shocked, Harry stopped abruptly. When he turned around, his aunt was standing behind him, wring her hands awkwardly. Clearing his throat, he said, "Yes, A-aunt Petunia?"

Petunia swallowed heavily, tucking a loose strand of her hair behind her ear as she shook her head. "It's just… I- I want to see my sister's eyes. That's…that's my Lily there. In your eyes."

Many years later, Harry would remember it as the first and last time he looked into Petunia's eyes, even though he visited her three more times until his seventeenth birthday. He saw all kinds of emotions flashed in his aunt's pale eyes; sadness, regret, guilt, happiness, and even gratitude. The woman then awkwardly ruffled his hair before she hastily went back into the house, head bowed down. He tried to pretend that he didn't notice it, but he saw the tears that fell down profusely, and heard the broken sobs that the woman let out.

* * *

"How do I look?"

"You know I'd say you look like an angel no matter what, love. I'm a little biased when it's you."

" _Ugh,_ you're not helping. Just pretend that I'm another girl."

"Why is it important for you to look good? We're only visiting your cousin."

"I want to give a good impression. We're meeting one of Europe's best scholars. I want Professor Bagshot to like me."

"You're impossible to dislike. Everyone likes you. Well, except for Lucius Malfoy. That git likes no one."

"Seriously, just humour me? Do you think I look good?"

"Anything for you, love… Hm, I think pale-blue doesn't suit you. I prefer pink or purple. And even though the pixie-cut is smoking hot, old people usually like it better when women have long hair."

"You're right, I suppose. Hold up for a second… Now, how do I look?"

"You look like another session with our beloved bed. And our bathroom. Probably the kitchen too."

"Merlin, you're _unbelievable_."

Charlie let out a laugh at his girlfriend's comment. When Tonks pouted in annoyance, he couldn't stop himself from giving her a quick kiss because he thought she looked adorable. "All right, I'll stop. I just can't help myself when I'm around you. I'm hopelessly in love with you, Tonks."

Tonks rolled her eyes but judging from the huge smile on her face, she was pleased. "Whatever, Romeo. Hold back the charm there. Remus is going to arrive in a few minutes. We need to focus. Do you have everything prepared?"

"Yes, of course. We just have to wait for him."

"No need to wait for any longer, kids," Remus said, suddenly opening the door. "I'm here already."

"How long have you been there?" Charlie asked, scowling at the werewolf as he reluctantly let go of his girlfriend. The werewolf merely shrugged.

"Just now. I Flooed here just awhile ago. When I didn't find you there, I figured you're probably up in your room. So, I decided to come here. Thank Merlin I didn't catch you in compromising positions."

"Yes, definitely. And thank you for appreciating our _privacy,_ " Tonks said sarcastically. "Shall we go now?"

They didn't waste any more time and quickly headed to Godric's Hollow, where Sirius had been staying with Bathilda Bagshot. Just a few days prior to their trip, Charlie had finally found the name of the family prodigal Seer from the list Moody gave him. There were around _a thousand_ Purebloods born in the 1980s in all of Europe, according to the list Moody gave him. But, excluding the Romanians themselves, approximately only ninety of them had Romanian descendants. Out of those ninety, only _three_ were from England. They were the Shafiqs, the Prewetts, and the Fawleys. The last known Shafiq had married into the Shacklebot family in 1938. They were none other than Kingsley Shacklebolt’s grandparents. He had researched the family, and when he found out that the last known Seer in the family was in 1878, Charlie moved on to the next family. Charlie knew for a fact that the Prewett bloodline died with the deaths of his uncles Fabian and Gideon, his mother's twin brothers, though it continued through the female side with his mother's marriage to his father. Just like the Shafiqs though, the last-known Seer in the family was recorded back in the late 1800s.

That was when he moved to the Fawleys. According to the books he read- ( _courtesy of Sirius' private library)-_ the Fawleys were still related to celebrated Seer Cassandra Vablatsky. Unlike the two families, there were still quite a few Fawleys that were still alive. One of them even went to school with Ron. He was a Hufflepuff named Sullivan. However, when Charlie searched more about the family, he found that there was a Pandora Fawley that married one Xenophilius Lovegood in 1979. They had a daughter named Luna Lovegood in 1981. That was when his memory was triggered, and he had a flashback about how he found out that the last known prodigal Seer was none other than Romanian witch Cassandra Vablatsky. It didn't take him long to make the connection. When he told Moody about it, the Head Auror told him to talk to Remus. At first, Charlie was a little confused as to why he had to talk to England's favourite Auror about his findings. But when Remus revealed that he'd witnessed himself how Luna Lovegood predicted Sirius' attack, Charlie understood why. It was not even a day later when Sirius sent them a Patronus, talking about powerful magical artefacts called the Deathly Hallows and the Viviane Stone – also known as Eye of the Lake. Knowing just how powerful the Stone was, Charlie told Remus that they had to see Sirius to discuss about it.

Three days later, they were making their trip to Godric's Hollow, as well as picking up Sirius.

"Hello!" Bathilda Bagshot greeted them when she opened the door, a kind smile on her face. She was eyeing Remus fondly. "I remember you, my dear. You're Remus, aren't you? The kind and gentle one of your loud bunch."

"That was just an act," a voice said as a man stepped into view. "Our Moony has always been good when it comes to giving an impression."

There, standing in all his Pureblood glory, a little too thin and weary for everyone's liking, but at least _alive,_ was Sirius Black.

Charlie and Tonks thought that they'd be nice and let the two best friends have their moment whilst he and his girlfriend introduced themselves to Bathilda.

"Padfoot," Remus breathed, his face spliting into a huge smile as he nearly smothered his best friend in a hug. "Merlin's beard, mate; I really missed you."

"I always knew you had feelings for me," Sirius joked, and his own face was also beaming with a gigantic smile. "I missed you too, mate."

"What happened, Sirius? Malfoy told us you ran away after he helped you," Remus said once they finally pulled apart.

"I'll give you all the details inside, my friend. Now let me greet my cousin first." Giving Tonks a wink, Sirius turned to hug the Metamorphmagus. "Long time no see, cous. You look hot _and_ happy. Domestic life suits you, it seems."

"Stop running around recklessly like a hero, will you?" Tonks said seriously, even though she was still grinning. "You're going to give my mother a heart attack at this rate you're going."

"Sorry, kid. I promise this will be the last time." The Auror then gave a grin to Charlie. "Hullo. I see you're taking care of my cousin really well, boy. Good for you. I'm glad you survive her daily-morning crankiness in one piece."

"Thank you," Charlie said with a smile. "And it's really nice to see you again, Sirius."

Once they were done with all the greetings, Sirius led them all inside the house, following the owner of the house. Bathilda then made an excuse to give them some privacy, saying that she was going to make them something to eat for lunch. Sirius thanked her and immediately began with his story about his escape from the Death Eaters' clutches. Remus was listening with rapt attention to Sirius' story, and his knuckles turned white from gripping his own knee-caps whilst he listened to how Sirius was tortured. Charlie realised that the version Sirius told him could only be the censored, simplified version. But even then, Charlie knew first-hand how horrible the torture must be. About fifteen minutes later, Bathilda returned with a cup of tea for everyone, before going back to the kitchen to continue with her cooking. It was then that Remus told Charlie to tell Sirius what he'd found. The former dragonologist relayed everything he’d found, making sure that he left nothing out. He went as far as showing his notes that he took from his research, feeling a little nervous when both Sirius and Remus read them with a serious look on their faces. Sure, technically the both of them were family-friends. But it didn't change the fact that they were two of the greatest Aurors in Europe.

"So, are you saying that the Death Eaters are after Luna Lovegood?" Sirius asked after he was done reading all of the files.

"Well, not exactly," Charlie began slowly. "They're after the prodigal Seer, which is Luna. But they don't know yet about her. They only know that _I_ know who the Seer is. Hence why they're after me."

"And what are they going to do with her? If they ever catch her?" Remus said.

"They're going to force her to alter our reality. Change something from the past. Basically, make her a pawn that will help You-Know-Who win the war."

Sirius let out a string of curses. Running a hand through his hair, he said, "Damn. And here I thought my news would be interesting."

"What did you find, Sirius?" Tonks asked. "Remus told us that you found something about the Eye of the Lake."

"I prefer to call it the Viviane Stone. The Eye of the Lake is quite a mouthful." He got up from his seat and went to the shelf by the fireplace, grabbing a stack of parchment and a picture-frame. When he returned to his seat, he looked tense. "What I am going to tell you now is probably the biggest secret that the world's ever known. You have to _swear_ that you won't tell anyone about it."

"Cous, I'm insulted that you think so little of me and Charlie," Tonks said, clearly upset. "Did you forget _you_ were the one who taught me about keeping secrets?"

"I know you two can be trusted. I just want to hear it. I'm not joking, Tonks. A lot of people would pay big money to read what's on this parchment." He randomly picked one up and waved it at them.

"What is it anyway?" Remus quipped.

Charlie realised right then and there that Sirius Black wasn't know for his theatrics for nothing when he made a dramatic pause before he continued.

"It's a letter sent by Albus Dumbledore to Gellert Grindewald himself. There are more here."

The silence the erupted between them was defeaning.

 _"That is insane!"_ Tonks exclaimed. "Didn't Dumbledore defeat Grindewald? It was one of the first things we learned back during Auror training."

Then Sirius began the story of what he'd found regarding Dumbledore's past. Bathilda had told him everything that had happened between Dumbledore and Grindewald. Throughout the story, Charlie could hardly believe what he was hearing. Gellert Grindewald was probably the _vilest_ wizard in the world, second only to Voldemort. But in Charlie's own opinion, he was sure that the rest of the world would say that Grindewald was worse than Voldemort. The latter was only known around Britain, and probably Europe. Grindewald, on the other hand, had crossed all the way to the United States and wrecked havoc over there as well. There was also the fact that while Voldemort was driven with manic blood-lust, from what Sirius told them, according to Bathilda's story, Grindewald wasn't like that. He realised what he did was wrong, and that just made him all the more frightening. Charlie's head felt like bursting from all of the new information when Sirius told him that Grindewald too, was a Seer. It made more sense why his movement was more organised than Voldemort. He probably predicted everything before he did it.

"So, there's probably a chance that he's predicted himself coming here, to see Dumbledore?" Remus asked. He was looking at the picture of young Dumbledore with Grindewald. Looking at the cheery smile on Grindewald's face, Charlie couldn't help but be reminded of his twin brothers. The thought was scary how someone who looked so care-free grew up to be a mass murderer.

"I doubt that," Sirius said after awhile. "From what Bathilda told me, he was rather surprised when he met Dumbledore. Grindewald was very arrogant. He believed himself to be the greatest wizard in the world, probably second only to Merlin. Bathilda told me that he seemed to genuinely like Dumbledore because of how brilliant our old Headmaster was – _is."_

"Did they find the Hallows though? And the Stone?" Charlie asked. He held back a flinch when he imagined two brilliant wizards conquering the world with the most powerful magical artifacts.

"I don't know. Bathilda lost contact with Grindewald after he ran away. She didn't say what happened between him and Dumbledore that ruined their friendship and drove Grindewald to run away, but I suppose it was extremely terrible. But Bathilda's almost convinced that Grindewald didn't find either artifact, and that Dumbledore let go of his ambition after Grindewald left."

"What are the Hallows anyway?" Tonks inquired. "Why does no one know about them? If they're that powerful, people should have been racing to find them."

"Oh, we do know about it," Sirius answered flatly. "They're the same objects from the story _The Three Brothers._ The one from Beedle the Bard."

Charlie felt his jaw drop. "Wait a minute. Are you saying that the three brothers were _real?_ "

"Yeah, they were the Peverell brothers. They were probably just brilliant wizards who invented all these brilliant stuff, because it'd be unlikely for literal Death to give them all those gifts. Antioch, the oldest, was the one who wielded the Elder Wand – _a wand more powerful than any in existence_. Grindewald claimed that he found the Wand, but I don't think so. If he did, Dumbledore wouldn't have defeated him, right? Then there was the second brother, Cadmus. He was the one with the Stone of Resurrection – the stone with _the power to recall others from Death._ Lastly, there was Ignotus, the third brother. He was the kind and wise one of the three brothers. He had the – "

Sirius froze, freezing mid-sentence as his eyes widened in epic proportion. He looked to Remus, who shared the look in his eyes. Then, almost as if on cue, they both said, " _Harry."_

"Harry? What's wrong with Harry? What's the relation between the third Hallow and Harry?" Tonks quickly asked, sensing the worry radiating off the two friends.

"The week before James died…" Remus said slowly. "Didn't you tell me that – "

"Yes," Sirius whispered. "That was how Harry got _it_ in the first place, right? _He_ gave it to him."

"Who? Who gave what to Harry?" Tonks tried asking one more time.

Both senior Aurors didn't answer. They merely stared at each other, probably communicating telepathically. It felt like hours when they both snapped out of it and practically jumped off the couch. Quickly gathering all the files on the research, those from Charlie and from Sirius as well, the Pureblood Auror stuffed them into his best friend's hands before zooming to the kitchen.

"Bathilda, we're leaving!" Sirius's voice called out.

"But you haven't eaten!" Bathilda said. "I'm about to finish, dear. Just wait a few minutes then – "

"No," Sirius said, going into the living room with Bathilda behind him. "I'm _really_ sorry but we have to leave. It's really important."

Charlie felt guilty when he saw how disappointed Bathilda looked. He could only imagine how long it had been for her since the last time she had had guests. But she got over it quickly, giving Sirius an understanding smile. "All right. Off you go to save the world. Give my regards to Albus, okay?"

"Don't worry, Professor," Remus said as he shook the historian's hand. "We _are_ going to see him."


	2. Quidditch World Cup

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's the 1994 Quidditch World Cup, and everyone went to see it. And by everyone, it literally meant _everyone._
> 
> Including Death Eaters.

> _Perce,_
> 
> _I got it. I got into the team. Well, only as the reserve Keeper though. But that's a start, yeah? I have to say, it's so weird playing with people you haven't known for years. It's weird not seeing your brothers, not seeing the girls, not seeing Harry. I kind of miss them, really. (Don't tell Fred and George I said that or you're dead the next time I s_ _ee you.) But oh well, that's life, I suppose. You just have to move on, right? At least the guys here_ _are all nice. And I think if I don't get to play in the next five years, I'll look into other teams_ _—like you told me to._
> 
> _I heard about what happened, by the way. Personal assisstant to Barty Crouch_ _Senior himself. Wow, mate. That's bloody awesome! Congratulations, okay? Not all fresh-graduates immediately get a job, you know? Especially not one as prestigious as yours. I am so proud of you, Perce. I told you that you could do it, didn't I? You're one step closer to becoming the youngest Prime Minister, I bet._
> 
> _Oh yeah, I just moved out. I live in London now. My flat's not much, but it's enough. I think. Come visit me, if you want to. We can celebrate your achievement. There's this real good restaurant near my flat. The food is really good. You'll like it. Tell me if you're coming, okay?_
> 
> _Oliver._

"Eggs?"

"And some sausages."

"Right. I'm making tea. Want some?"

"I think I'll take coffee instead. My head's killing me."

"Serves you right for chugging that Firewhiskey."

"Shut up, you great git. It's your fault."

"Whatever. Here's your coffee."

"Thank you."

"Don't mention it."

"You're still a git."

"Go take a look at yourself in the mirror."

Percy rolled his eyes but he couldn't hide the grin on his face. He had only been home for a week when he received that letter from Oliver. The ginger didn't waste his time and almost immediately asked his mother whether he could go visit his boyfriend—not that he told his mother about his relationship with Oliver. The subject of one's sexuality had never became a discussion in the wizarding community, but Percy knew his parents were rather old-school. It wasn't that he was embarrassed, because being with Oliver for the past few months was the happiest he had been in his entire life and he fully intended on telling his family about it. But he wasn't ready for how they would react. He felt guilty when he told Oliver that he still hadn't told his parents about their relationship. But the Scott, bless his heart, gave him an understanding smile and told him to take as long as he wanted to. It was probably because Oliver himself admitted that he hadn't told his parents as well, for the same reason as Percy. They'd agreed to keep it a secret at Hogwarts, and they agreed to keep it a secret again until it looked like the right time to tell their family.

Oliver seemed pretty calm about the prospect of telling his parents. Percy suspected it was because the guy was very easy-going in the first place, and the fact that he was an only child helped. He wouldn't have to worry about what the rest of his family thought of him. All his life, Percy was never really appreciated by anyone in his family. Even when he told his family about him getting the position as Crouch's assistant, his mother was the only one who reacted positively, while his father merely gave him a smile and quick pat on his shoulder. Bill's reaction was a copy of their father, Charlie was too busy doing Merlin-knew-what with his girlfriend, and the rest of his siblings teased him mercilessly about it. He knew Ron always felt like he was the odd duck out of the seven of them. But Percy realised that he was the one who didn't fit into his family. Bill was the most perfect one, Charlie was the coolest one, Fred and George were the most likeable, Ron was the celebrity in their family by befriending Harry, and Ginny was the baby and special child. Percy? He hardly mattered. Everyone always overlooked him. That was partly why he jumped on the chance to leave his house and stay with Oliver.

That, and the fact that he missed his boyfriend like crazy.

Staying with Oliver didn't feel as weird as he thought it would be. Probably it had something to do with the fact that he'd shared dorms with the brunet. The moment Percy set foot in Oliver's flat, his boyfriend practically tackled him in a hug. Back in Hogwarts, because they agreed to keep their relationship a secret, it was harder for them to truly be a couple. They spent a great deal of time together, even more than before. But that was just it. They didn't dare to do anything more. Percy could even count on one hand how many times they had kissed. Staying with Oliver changed everything. The Scott only had one bedroom, one bathroom, a cramped living room, and a kitchen that also functioned as the dining room. They originally intended to Transform the couch in the living room for Percy to sleep on. But it was safe to say that after they celebrated their achievement in that restaurant Oliver told him about in his letter, they found that it was more practical for Percy to sleep in Oliver's room.

"What did your parents say about you working for Crouch?" Oliver asked, giving Percy a plate of eggs and sausages before he took the seat across from Percy.

Percy took his time before answering by taking a huge bite of his egg. He grimaced when the freshly cooked egg burned his tongue. "Mum was ecstatic. Dad was…appreciative."

"Hm…" Oliver hummed softly, and Percy made it a point to avoid Oliver's brown eyes when he stared at him knowingly. "What about your brothers? And Ginny?"

"You know them," was the curt response Percy gave. He bowed his head down and busied himself with the tedious job of cutting his food. When Oliver reached out to touch his hand, he relaxed and let go of his utensils.

"Percy, I want you to know that I'm so proud of you, okay?" Oliver said. "I know that I'm not exactly the person you want to hear those words from. But at least I'll be here to say that for you. And I mean it, Perce. I really do."

"I know," Percy said, still avoiding Oliver's eyes. "And it's okay, really. I'm used to it."

The moment he felt Oliver's hand tighten around his, Percy realised his mistake. He thought the bloke would start to rant about how bad his family treated him. But when Oliver didn't, he was thankful. Because his family _wasn’t_ bad. They were really good people, in fact. They just had…too much on their plate most of the time. And the last thing Percy wanted was for Oliver to get worked up about how Percy lacked the attention he deserved from his family. He really appreciated it when Oliver snatched the new issue of the Daily Prophet and began to talk about the Quidditch World Cup. His whole family was going to watch the final match - Ireland versus Bulgaria - courtesy of Harry's family. The Black-Lupin family were going as a group with the Malfoys as well. Percy heard from Ron that Harry's family also took Neville Longbottom with them because his grandmother couldn't accompany the boy, while the Malfoys paid for Hermione Granger's ticket. He felt really bad when he told Oliver about it, who couldn't go because tickets weren't exactly cheap. But just a few days later, he received an anonymous mail of a single ticket, which happened to be the last ticket for the top box that was only for the official guests and VIP audiences, the area that the Black-Lupin and Malfoy families booked specially for them.

At first, Percy was a little worried, fearing that the ticket was jinxed. So he ran a few tests that he learned from Flitwick. The ticket turned out to be just that, a normal ticket. When he told Oliver about the extra ticket, the Keeper was both thankful and curious. They decided to ask Ron to ask Harry whether he had sent another ticket. The reply that came wasn't from Ron though. Surprisingly, it was from Hermione Granger. She wrote that she was sorry she'd intercepted their letter, but then explained that it was a secret gift from her blond boyfriend. She said that it was a thank-you gift for saving his life. For some reason, Percy felt like the young Malfoy knew the truth of his relationship with Oliver. After all, the kid was there in the Astronomy Tower that night, even if he was barely conscious. Then there was the fact that the Slytherin was also there to witness the argument he and Oliver had had in front of the Fat Lady. He wanted to ask the blond about it, but changed his mind at the last minute. If he was wrong, he was risking so much. But if he wasn't, he kind of trusted Draco to keep it a secret. From the way Hermione talked, it seemed like she had no idea that Percy and Oliver were together. So the newly graduated Gryffindors merely sent the Malfoy heir a letter expressing their gratitude. Draco, truly the awkward and aloof git that he was, only wrote a short reply in his letter:

_It's nothing. Don't make a fuss about it._

If it wasn't for the fact that he just bought Oliver a ticket for the World Cup, Percy would probably send another letter saying how much of a prick that blond Slytherin was. But Percy held himself, and went on to prepare his and Oliver’s things for the trip. That was three days ago. As they finished their breakfast, Percy glanced at his watch, realising that he was supposed to meet his family at the Burrow soon. He told his family Oliver was coming, but he left out the part that the Malfoys bought Oliver his ticket. Deciding that it would be quicker to split their chores, Percy told Oliver to go check their stuff for one last time before he got dressed while Percy cleaned the dishes. It was almost half an hour later when they were ready to Apparate to his house. Once they were there, he was a little taken aback when his mother hollered at him to hurry up and touch the Portkey. ( _"_ _They couldn’t find a better boot?”_ _George protested_ _, which earned him a glare from his mother_.) Percy quickly did as he was told, squeezing himself and Oliver between Ron and Ginny. He felt the familiar, dizzying sensation of the Portkey as they were Transported away, and in no time, he found himself by the entrance of the campsite.

The area they were staying in was set quite far from the rest of the other campers, what with the three huge tents that they had. The first tent was the biggest one, consisting of the parents and their babies: Sirius and Marlene with their children; Regulus and his wife Irina with their daughter; Remus and Dorcas and their newborn son; Percy's parents; and the Malfoys. The second tent was for the older kids: Bill, Charlie and Tonks, Percy, the twins, and Oliver. The last tent was for the rest of the kids: Harry, Ron, Neville, Draco, Ginny and Hermione. Percy later heard from his brother Bill that it took a lot of convincing from Narcissa for her husband to agree about sharing the tent with the others. The smug Pureblood originally wanted a private tent. But Narcissa agreed with Sirius that after Lucius practically declared his loyaly to the Order, it would be better for them to stay together in the highly-protected tent with everyone else. In the end, Lucius agreed, albeit grudingly. Percy found it hilarious that even someone like Lucius was helpless when it came to his wife's demands.

They had a lot of fun the whole day, even for Percy who always too serious for his own good. As they waited for the game that would start sometime before night fell, everyone spent their time doing whatever they found interesting. Sirius and Remus were too busy reviewing the wards around the camp-site, being the top Aurors they were. Regulus and Lucius joined them sometime after lunch, and their discussion changed about the secret matters regarding the Sacreds. Percy overheard that even though Sirius was back, the role as Head of the Sacreds was still held by Regulus. The position of Head of the Black family went back to Sirius, but the brothers agreed that it would be more effective if Regulus helped by watching over the Sacreds. The ladies, on the other hand, were busy talking about their crazy children and pigheaded men. Percy couldn't help the laugh that escaped him when he saw the annoyed expression on his brother Charlie's face at the sight of Tonks joining the conversation, complaining about the former dragonologist's stubbornness. Charlie ended up sulking as he went off to Bill, who clapped his younger brother's affectionately on his shoulder before they started to talk about big brother stuff. The twins and the rest of the boys were listening with rapt attention to Harry's stories about his father's escapades with Sirius and Remus back when they were still students. Hermione and Ginny spent their day in their shared-bunk talking about Merlin-knew-what.

Percy and Oliver, seeing that everyone was too busy, saw it as chance to have some private time.

_(They didn't realise two pair of eyes_ _were watching them when the couple got back. They didn't realise how Draco tried to hide his knowing grin and quickly averted his gaze when Harry asked him what he was grinning about. They didn't realise how Bill cocked an eyebrow in amusement, the gears in his brilliant mind beg_ _inning to work as they came up with the only possible conclusion.)_

Everyone had early dinner together before the match. Percy was really excited when Ludo Bagman came to visit them with Barty Crouch Senior. The Deputy Head for the Department of International Magical Co-operation was there to talk to Marlene, who was his boss. It was obvious that Crouch hated the fact that he had to answer to someone who was young enough to be his daughter, but the senior Minister did a decent job in hiding it. Percy noted weirdly that when Crouch saw Regulus, utter fury coloured the old man's eyes as the younger Black made it a point to look away. He found it really interesting when Sirius seemed to realise that Crouch disliked not only his wife, but his brother as well. Almost instantly, the Auror made a protective gesture by standing beside his wife and directly asking Crouch why the older man was staring at his brother. Crouch looked like he was about to rise up to the bait, but his eyes landed on Percy. Something flashed in Crouch's eyes, something that told Percy his boss would give him hell just for the fact that he was chummy with the Black family. The ginger only relaxed when he felt Oliver discreetly run his knuckles on the side of his legs.

"I'm sure Miss McKinnon wouldn't mind giving you some help if Crouch fired you," Oliver muttered after making sure no one was listening. "So, don't you mind him, okay?"

"Yeah," Percy breathed, letting out a heavy sigh as he tried to cheer himself up with the thought. He gave Oliver a thankful smile, genuinely grateful that he had his boyfriend with him. "I'm glad that you're here with me."

"Me too," Oliver replied. He then let out a small chuckle as an idea seemed to pop in his mind. "Do you know when it’s Malfoy's birthday? Because I really think we should give him a present. Just to show him our gratitude."

"If you're talking about me," Draco said, suddenly already standing behind the two young men, surprising them. The look on the blond's face was completely unreadable. "My birthday is on the 5th of June. You just missed it, actually. But if you're talking about my father, his birthday is on the 17th of August. You two still have time. Whoever it is that you're talking about, both my father and I would appreciate the gift."

Then, just as quickly as he came, the blond walked away, headed toward his Muggle-born girlfriend.

"I didn't even hear him coming," Oliver commented. "How long do you think he's been there?"

"I have no idea," Percy said honestly, eyes still watching the blond, who was now mocking Ron over his obsession with Viktor Krum.

"Everyone, let's go!" Sirius said when Oliver was about to reply. "The match is about to start. Stay close together, okay? I don't want anyone walking around without being supervised."

"Who are you and what have you done with my Godfather?" Harry said, looking mock-scandalised. "You're actually acting like a responsible adult, Padfoot."

"Oh, shut up, you little punk," Sirius said, rolling his eyes even as he tried to hide his grin. "I already have the whole campsite to worry about. And I know you, Harry James Potter. So be a good boy, sit next to your friends, and watch the game, okay?"

"Alright, alright," the Boy-Who-Lived said, waving his hands in mock-surrender. "It's not like I'm going to wander around during a final match anyway."

"Good boy." This time, it was Remus who said so. "Now, come on. Let's just go."

Throughout the match, Percy found himself enjoying everything more than he could possibly imagine. Sure, he was still very reserved when it came to expressing himself whenever the Irish scored. But that didn't mean he wasn't having fun. Everyone seemed to be having fun as well. Even the normally stoic Lucius looked like he was having problems containing himself when his wife and son were cheering loudly. The two Black brothers were exceptionally loud the whole time, jumping up and down like little children over almost everything. It was only then did Percy remember that the brothers were known to be brilliant Quidditch players in their time. Sirius was a Beater for Gryffindor with Neville's father, and Regulus was Seeker for Slytherin. They were probably the only ones who were more excited about the match than Oliver, who was practically buzzing with all the excitement. Percy watched with an unconscious grin on his face at the various reactions Oliver showed through out the match. When Ireland finally won, despite Bulgaria having caught the Snitch, Percy didn't even realise that he was cheering along with the rest of his family and every single one of Ireland's supporters in the stadium. All that joyous energy was too much for him to resist.

The journey back to their camp was rather long. The whole time, everyone couldn't stop talking about the match. The four fourth-year boys were talking animatedly, recounting every goal that was scored. The twins were busy counting the money they got from their bet with Ludo Bagman, careful not to be seen by their parents. Hermione kindly listened to Ginny's babbling, even if the bookworm looked completely lost. Percy and Oliver joined his brothers and Tonks talking about it as well, even though Percy mostly kept quiet as he watched his boyfriend talk to Charlie, who was technically his idol when it came to Quidditch. Even the adults couldn't stop themselves from discussing the match. But it was a while later when Percy noticed that Sirius was weirdly quiet. He was glancing around, his grey eyes alert. Judging from the way he kept his wand-hand in his pocket, Percy knew that the Auror had a tight grip around his wand. Remus was the first one to notice Sirius' weird behaviour, always in-tune with his best friend. The two talked in hushed tones, lest that they'd scare everyone with their suspicions. When they carefully moved closer to Regulus and Lucius to talk about whatever they just discussed, Percy's heartbeat quickened in worry. Instinct told him that whatever they’d talked about was serious, and Percy readily gripped his wand with one hand while his other hand reached to grab Oliver’s. The sudden contact surprised the Scott, and when he faltered in his words, it attracted his brothers' attention as well. Percy didn't even care what Bill and Charlie thought when they saw the way Percy was holding onto Oliver's hand tightly. For all he knew, they could be attacked anytime. Speculations and taunts be damned, he didn't want to risk it.

And he was right when their tents, just when they were only a few meters away, exploded.

Percy barely had enough time to cast the Protego Charm around him and Oliver. He could still feel the heat from the flames as he used his own body to cover Oliver instinctively. When he felt a shift in the air, he knew that the wards around them—around the whole campsite even—had collapsed. He heard Sirius, Remus, Regulus and Lucius shout out spells, and only then did Percy realise that fifteen Death Eaters had surrounded them. From the corner of his eye, he saw that everywhere else fire was engulfing the campsite. Spells were flying everywhere, and loud screaming was tearing apart the night. Percy narrowly dodged a hex that flew over his head when he dragged Oliver with him toward Ginny and Hermione, who were curling on the ground to avoid stray hexes. His father and Tonks had joined the rest of the men to fight off the Death Eaters, and they all went to rescue other campers once they'd defeated the majority of the Death Eaters that attacked them. He noticed that the women were missing, and for a split second, he thought they had been taken away. It was only when he saw Irina and her daughter Disapparate with his mother that Percy realised the women had gone first with the babies. Before Disapparating, Percy heard his mother tell him and his older brothers to get his siblings and the other children back to the Burrow. He saw Bill Disapparate with the twins while Charlie went with Draco and Neville. With great terror, Percy realised that his brother and Harry weren't there.

"Where's Ron and Harry?" Percy yelled at Oliver, sending out a jinx at a nearby Death Eater. The four of them were running and dodging, trying to fight the remaining Death Eaters long enough to find Harry and Ron.

It took Oliver a while to answer because he was busy fending off his own side. "I don't know. I can't see— _there! They're right there!_ "

About fifty metres from where they were, Harry and Ron were running away from three Death Eaters, the former sending jinx after jinx at the Death Eaters who were firing curses at them rapidly. Percy knew that he had no choice but to go after the two boys. Looking at Oliver, he said, "You go with my sister and Hermione. I'll go save the boys."

"Be careful," Oliver said tensely, looking like he wanted to object but knew better because he realised that Percy was right.

Percy didn't waste his time and quickly went after Ron and Harry. He didn't look back to make sure Oliver had gone with the girls, the only assurance he got was the familiar _CRACK!_ sound that told him they hopefully had Disapparated. Making a bee-line toward the two boys, he called their names to tell them of his existence. He cursed when both boys didn't seem to hear him, and quickened his pace. He tried one more time, louder this time as he shot a spell at the Death Eater closest to him. Fortunately, Ron heard him. He saw his brother tell Harry something, and the two boys made a sharp turn, avoiding the Death Eaters so they could make their way toward Percy. The tall ginger kept on running because he'd be damned if he lost the boys just when they were so close. When his legs felt like burning, at the same time as his lungs feeling like they were about to explode, he cursed himself for his lack of exercise. In the back of his mind, Percy swore that if he got out alive, he'd join Oliver for his morning jog. A hex nearly hit his brother, missing Ron only by a few inches. That was when Percy knew he would have to Apparate while running, even though he had never done it before and knew the risk. But it was the only choice he had, so Percy could only hope he didn't mess up.

"Hold on to each other, you two!" Percy shouted when they were only five metres apart. At the same time, he prepared himself to Apparate.

Destination. Deliberation. Determination.

The moment his hand touched Ron's hand, Percy transported all of them back to the Burrow. Before leaving, he saw one Death Eater shoot a spell into the sky, making an ugly snake symbol appear. The journey that usually only took seconds felt like ages as Percy worriedly waited for them to arrive at the Burrow. The three of them landed roughly, with the two boys collapsing on top of Percy. Ron was immediately fussed over by their mother, whilst Harry was being smothered in a tight hug by Marlene and Dorcas. When his mother turned her attention on him, giving him kisses all over his face, Percy didn't even care about it, when he usually would fight it. He was too tired and felt like sleeping for a week. He was a little bit dazed, his whole being still strung up because of the adrenaline. But once he was calm enough, he noticed that Oliver had helped him into the house, and was sitting beside him as the Keeper watched Bill helping their mother to tend to their guests. Charlie was awfully quiet as he took his seat beside Marlene, obviously worrying over Tonks. No one made a sound for the longest time. No one even took a sip from the hot chocolate his mother made for them. It was when the first ray of sun appeared that they heard a loud _CRACK!_ from outside of the house, followed by five others.

The first one to enter the house was Percy's father, who nearly lost his footing when his wife ran into him to give the balding man a hug. The next one to enter was Tonks. After being nearly catatonic for the past few hours, Percy was surprised when Charlie made his way to Tonks at an inhuman speed. Lifting his girlfriend into his arms, the two were soon lost in their own world as they kissed each other so passionately, Percy had to look away. The rest of the group came together, and they all went to their own respective families. Everyone asked about what just happened, but there was no answer for the longest time. It was nearly half an hour later when Sirius finally spoke, looking grim and solemn.

"It's the Death Eaters," he began. "They've re-assembled themselves."


	3. A Task and A Ball

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> On top of worrying about his First Task, Harry had to worry about the Yule Ball too.
> 
> As if he didn't have a lot on his plate already.

_("Can I sit in here? Everywhere else is full.")_

_("Sure.")_

_("I'm Ron Weasley. Nice to meet you.")_

_("Harry Potter.")_

"For Merlin's sake, Potter, quit moping around!"

Harry blinked, jerking a little upon hearing Malfoy's loud voice, as the blond, without Hermione in sight, took his seat across Harry. After his fight with Ron, the Gryffindor had taken refuge in the library when he had no classes, to avoid the ginger. He couldn't believe his _best friend_ would be the one who didn't believe that he hadn't put his name in the Goblet of Fire. The ginger even had the nerve to say that Harry had asked Sirius or Remus to help him. To say that he was disappointed would be an understatement. Ron knew how dangerous the championship was, and no matter how reckless he was, Harry wasn't conceited. He didn't immediately tell his Godparents about it, trying to find a way that wouldn't freak them out when he delivered the news. Unfortunately, his family found out about it in the morning, when they read the Daily Prophet. Harry had no idea whether he should laugh or cry when Marlene and Dorcas sent Dumbledore a Howler, demanding the Headmaster to find a way to get Harry out of the competition. Needless to say, what with the magically-binding law regarding the competition, Harry had no choice but to participate. It wouldn't be a big deal for him had it not been for the fact that practically everyone in Hogwarts hated him. The only ones who didn't were Hermione, Ginny, the Weasley twins, Neville _and_ Malfoy.

"Tell me again why you don't hate me and my best friend does?" Harry grumpily asked as he eyed Snape's essay with a vengeance. The bloody git's homework was always ridiculously difficult.

"Who says I don't hate you, Potter? I just know that even though you're dim, you're not _that_ dim," Malfoy deadpanned, wordlessly circling Harry's mistakes from the essay he was trying to finish. "Besides, Weaselbee doesn't hate you. He's just envious of you. It's _always_ been about you, hasn’t it? And even back in his own family, it's never been about him. At least, that's why Granger told me when she tried to convince me you wouldn't have entered your own name."

"So you _did_ think it was me," Harry said, scowling when he realised how Malfoy just made a mess of his essay. "If it weren't Hermione, would you have treated me the way Ron did?"

It took Malfoy a while to answer. "Probably… But it doesn't matter now, right? At least I'm not running around giving out pins about how much of a loser you are. Just so you know, I’ve got my money on Diggory, so you better lose, Scarhead."

A lot of people would have smacked Malfoy in the face for his comment – and Harry _really_ felt like smacking the blond Pureblood. But this, the both of them insulting each other, was familiar. He was used to it. The familiarity helped him to forget how his supposed enemy was supporting him while his supposed best friend wouldn't even look at him. Rolling his eyes as he tried to hide the small smile that threatened to appear, Harry then decided to focus on his homework, correcting the mistakes Malfoy just pointed out. The two boys were silent for some time, the both of them busy with their own work, when Harry broke the silence with a question.

"Where's your girlfriend?"

Harry wished he had a camera at that moment because the look on Malfoy's face was _priceless._

"My…what?" Malfoy muttered, avoiding looking at the Gryffindor in embarrassment.

"Hermione," Harry said, grinning. "Where's Hermione? You know, my best friend? The girl you're seeing right now."

"She's talking to McGonagall about an assignment. And we're not…" Malfoy trailed off, looking like he was struggling with himself. "We're not exactly… _dating._ I mean, I don't even know what to call our relationship."

"I have never dated anyone myself but I think what you two are doing _is_ dating. Or courting, if you prefer the outdated term. And if you don't know what it is, that means when two people are – "

"I know what it means, Potter. I just… I'm not sure whether Gra- _Hermione_ wants to make it official that she's seeing me."

"Well, you two are spending an awful lot of time together, you sodding git. Considering that you two are almost always with each other 24/7, holding hands everywhere you go, stealing kisses whenever you get the chance, I think Hermione _does_ want to make it official."

When the Slytherin muttered something under his breath, Harry swore he could almost see his not-friend blush.

"What's that, Malfoy? What did you say?"

"We haven't kissed," Malfoy said in a small voice.

The confession surprised Harry because he genuinely thought Malfoy and Hermione had kissed at least _once_ last year, after the Slytherin was attacked. But he decided to be the bigger person and quickly changed the topic. "So, you haven't kissed my friend. Okay, I don't need the details. But, at least you both _have_ talked about it, right? About being in a relationship. I mean, you both look pretty serious to me."

"We're only fourteen. It's not like I'm about to propose to her next week."

"Mate, you _paid_ for her ticket to the World Cup. And don't even get me started about the many times you nearly died for her."

"It was only twice, Potter. And it's not like I directly sacrificed myself for her. More like I sacrificed myself for _you_ so she wouldn't do anything stupid instead."

"Semantics. The point is, I know you really care about her. Pretty sure the L word is coming soon."

"You Gryffindors are so bloody nosy. Why don't you just focus on yourself, Pothead?"

"Focus on myself? What do you mean?"

"What about you and Chang?"

If Harry was eating or drinking, or had something in his mouth, he would have choked.

"W-what about me and Cho?" Harry stuttered, feeling himself growing red in the face. "And wipe that stupid smirk off your face, you prat."

Typical of the Malfoy heir, the blond's smirk widened instead. "I'm annoying, obnoxious, snobbish, and even evil at times. But that doesn't mean I'm blind, Potter. Unlike you, I actually have two healthy, functioning eyes. I’ve seen the way you stare at Ravenclaw's princess many times. It's obvious you have feelings for her. I mean, you nearly fell down the stairs the other day because you were too busy staring at Chang."

Harry wished the ground would just open up and swallow him right then and there. Ever since the Quidditch game against Ravenclaw, Harry had been developing feelings for Cho Chang. The Ravenclaw Seeker was just _so pretty_ , and her Quidditch skills amazed him. He hadn't really thought about her anymore during the summer. But once he returned back to school and ran into Cho on the train, his feelings for her came back full force. It didn't help that she looked even prettier than she had the previous year. Harry had tried so hard to hide his crush on Cho that not even his family or Ron and Hermione knew about it. Apparently the universe was plotting against him because Malfoy was now the one who had found out about his secret.

Out of all the people in Hogwarts, it had to be Draco Malfoy.

"Damn you, Malfoy," Harry muttered. "Have I ever told you how I flipping _hate_ you?"

Harry felt like punching Malfoy when the blond let out a gleeful laugh. "Why so tense, Potter? Relax, I promise I won't tell anyone about it."

"Tell anyone about what? That Harry likes Cho Chang?"

In unison, Harry and Malfoy whipped their heads around towards the source of the voice. Hermione had just walked in, seeming a little out of breath as threw herself down beside the blond. Harry noted with amusement how the smirk Malfoy had on his face was instantly replaced with a small smile the moment he saw Hermione.

"Granger," Malfoy said softly, taking a tone that Harry often heard him use with little Lyra Malfoy. "Nice of you to finally join us. And how did you know about Potter's one-sided, unrequited love for Miss Chang?"

"Draco, don't be mean," the bookworm scolded even though she failed to hide the grin on her face. "I've known for quite some time actually. I’ve noticed how his eyes always find her whenever she's around. You should learn to be more subtle, Harry."

"See? I told you you were too obvious," Malfoy said smugly.

Knowing that he'd lost, Harry could only roll his eyes in annoyance. "Whatever, you two."

His grumpy response got the pair laughing. But as if she had just remembered something, Hermione then said, "Oh right, I almost forgot something. Harry, you should go see Hagrid."

Eyebrows raised, Harry asked, "Why? Is something wrong?"

"Nope. I ran into Ronald on the way here, and he told me that Seamus told Ron that Parvati told Dean that Hagrid was looking for you. Something about the first Triwizard Task."

"Really? That's what carrot top said?" Malfoy asked skeptically before Harry could reply. "That's like, the _worst_ lie anyone could possibly come up with."

"Draco, shut up," Hermione snapped, glaring at the blond. When Malfoy merely rolled his eyes, she then turned her attention back to Harry. "Regardless of whether Ron was lying or not, I think you really should go see Hagrid. It's something to do with the first task anyway. Probably it's some kind of hint. And oh, he said you should bring your Cloak too."

"Fine," Harry sighed. Tidying up his things, he said, "I guess I'll see you two tomorrow then, assuming I won't be back ‘till late. Be nice, love birds."

"Sod off, Potter!" Malfoy called out as he walked away.

It was half an hour later that Harry finally met up with Hagrid by his cottage, and he was surprised to find the half-giant all dressed up. His questions went unanswered though, at least until Hagrid beamed at a figure behind Harry as they both made their way into the forest. When the students from Beauxbatons had arrived at Hogwarts, everyone's attention quickly landed on the tall woman that Dumbledore introduced as Madame Olympe Maxime, the Headmistress of the school. She was so tall that she made Dumbledore's weirdly lanky figure looked small. With a tug to his heart, Harry remembered how Ron remarked that Hagrid couldn't take his eyes off of the French woman. As they ventured deeper into the forest, with Harry hidden under his Cloak, he couldn't help himself when he made faces at the horrible French accent Hagrid tried to do to impress Madam Maxime. Growing up with Sirius, who was the most Pureblooded wizard around (even though said wizard vehemently disliked this about himself), Harry had sort of learned the language because Sirius and Marlene often spoke in French when they both were discussing something serious, to avoid having Harry overhear it. Harry wasn't very good at it, but even he knew how horrible Hagrid's French was.

His thoughts soon became distracted when he heard the loud roars coming from the direction they were headed. Then everything became so bright that Harry almost thought the sun was rising. But it didn't take him long to figure things out, especially when he saw the excited glint in Hagrid's eyes. Careful not to alert Madam Maxime of his existence there, he poked Hagrid and whispered, " _Dragons?_ That's what the first task is going to be?"

Hagrid didn't answer immediately. Instead, he told Maxime to go ahead and have a look. Once they were sure that the Headmistress was out of earshot, Hagrid nodded his head in excitement. "Yeah. Ron's brother – Charlie, tha's his name – brought 'em all 'ere from Romania. Haf’ta leave Nymphadora behind though."

"You know she'll hit you if she finds out you call her Nymphadora. Oh, hey, Harry."

On cue, both Harry and Hagrid turned around to find Charlie standing there behind them, a cheeky grin on his face. Swallowing, Harry tensely replied. "Charlie, hey."

Chuckling, the tattooed ginger said, "Don't worry, kid. I'm not going to tell anyone you're here. And your lady's all the way up there with the Liondragon, Hagrid. So, you guys are safe."

"Thanks, Charlie," Hagrid said, obviously relieved. "An' so sorry 'bout the comment I made 'bout yer little lady. Didn' mean ta."

"No worries, old friend."

"What are you doing here though?" Harry asked. "I thought you and Tonks were supposed to be helping Sirius and Remus on a case."

"I am. At least, until it was revealed that the first task would involve dragons. But once we're through with the first task, I'll go back to work on the case."

"Tell Tonks I said hello, okay," Harry said. He'd always liked the Metamorphmagus, who’d often babysat him when he was small. He'd long considered Tonks as an older sister of sorts.

"Sure. She originally wanted to come here. But Sirius told her that it would be better if she didn't. Your Godfather's convinced that someone has it in for you. If we have someone quite popular here like Tonks, it would be more difficult for us to capture the culprit."

"I know. Sirius told me about it."

"Of course he did."

"By the way, is it considered cheating if you tell me which dragon I should be worried about?"

Charlie chuckled. "That _is_ cheating, but it's not like it matters much, not when you're already here anyway… I have to be honest, the dragon that really scares me is the Hungarian Horntail. That's a mean one."

"Where? Which one is it?" Hagrid quickly asked, craning his neck. He sounded overly excited, which was worrying.

"That one. The one that nearly roasted three of my friends. I pity whoever’s going to go against her."

"She's beautiful," Hagrid whispered in awe. It took nearly everything in Harry for him not to give a scathing remark.

"Harry, can I ask you something?" Charlie asked. He was all serious now, completely ignoring the fact that Hagrid had now joined Madam Maxime.

"Yeah, what is it?"

"Do you know Luna Lovegood?"

His question caught Harry off guard a bit. "Luna? She's the quirky blonde, right?"

"Yeah, she is a little odd. Do you know her?"

"Well, not really. She's best friends with Ginny though. I think you'd have better luck asking your sister, Charlie."

"Right," Charlie said, as realisation dawned on him. It looked like he’d just remembered that the person his sister often talked about, the girl whom the ginger had befriended, was none other than the same Luna Lovegood that he was looking for.

"Yeah, Ginny can probably help you better."

"Very well, I'll go ask Gin… It's already late, by the way. I think you should go back."

"You're right. But Hagrid…" Harry trailed off, scowling when he saw how Hagrid was too busy flirting with Madam Maxime. "Oh well, I guess I'll just go back alone."

"Here, let me walk you," Charlie said, chuckling at the sight of the couple.

"Thank you very much, Charlie," Harry said once he was back in the castle. "And thanks for not ratting me out. It would be so embarrassing if I got kicked out from the game before I even could even compete."

"No problem. Good luck, okay? You'll be fine, Harry."

 _As if,_ Harry thought darkly. _Harry Potter and luck were two completely opposite things._

* * *

"I'm an idiot."

"A colossal idiot."

"I should have believed you."

"You totally should have."

"And I'm really sorry for that. Really, truly sorry."

"As you should be."

"Malfoy, if you don't shut up right now, I swear to Merlin I'm going to punch you _so hard_ , that pointy nose of yours is going to pop out from the back of your head."

"I'd like to see you try, Weasley."

"You – "

"Knock it off, you two," Harry said, quickly putting himself between the blond and the ginger. "Malfoy, you go bother Hermione. And Ron, I forgive you. I really do."

"Don't let him get away so easily, Pothead," Malfoy said flatly before heading off to where Hermione was, who was trying but failing to pretend as though she weren’t trying to eavesdrop.

Like nearly everyone in the Great Hall was.

"Don't you pricks have better things to do?" Ron snapped impatiently, glaring at everyone.

"You heard what he said," Fred said. "Go back to your knittings, girls."

"Yeah, there's nothing to see anyway," George added. "Except for my kid brother and his best friend trying to clear things out between them."

Ron didn't know whether he wanted to punch his brothers or thank them.

He wisely chose the latter, mouthing the word to the twins, who winked at Ron and Harry.

"Come on," Harry said, giving a small smile. "Let's play Exploding Snap in the common room."

Nodding wordlessly, Ron followed his best friend. Like he always had. It was the thing that had always bothered Ron. He knew that everyone always thought of him as the pathetic loser who could only follow Harry around. That was why he’d got so upset when the Goblet of Fire spat out the paper with Harry's name written on it. Deep down, he knew that there was no way Harry would be stupid enough to put his name in. But the devil in him made him believe that Harry would try to follow in his father's footsteps, just to prove to the world that he _was_ James Potter's son. He regretted everything almost immediately, but his pride was too big for him to apologise. That was why when Hagrid told him to tell Harry about the dragons, he didn't even think twice about it. When he saw his best friend step into the arena, looking scared as hell when he saw the mean Hungarian Horntail, Ron felt like jumping down there to help him. He was pretty sure that he was one of the loudest to cheer when Harry had won, along with his family. He decided right then and there, that even if Harry _did_ put his name in, it didn't matter to him. They were best friends. They'd always been there for each other, so nothing that the universe threw in their way would change that.

Ron thought that things would be fine, seeing that he'd made up with Harry; but it wasn't even a week later that the Yule Ball was announced. He was glad that he wasn't the only boy in his year who adopted the look of constipation upon hearing the news. The Yule Ball meant that he would have to get dressed up, learn how to dance, and then ask a girl to go with him. The last one was the scariest part for him. He was so bad at talking, even when it came to talking to his family. The only person who was worse than him was his brother Percy, but even Percy would have had his girlfriend Penelope to go with him. He briefly considered taking the easy way out, which was to ask Hermione, but then he remembered that since his best friend was seeing Malfoy, obviously the two would go together. His only consolation was that Harry, one of the most popular guys in probably all over England, was just as bad as he was about the whole thing. Ron overheard the guy practising in the mirror, and it wasn't long for the ginger to realise that Harry only had one girl in mind to ask – the pretty Ravenclaw who had bad-mouthed the Chudley Cannons once. Ron would have told Harry about how he didn’t want him to ask Cho Chang to the dance, but was distracted from this when McGonagall announced to the whole of Transfiguration class that they'd have _dancing lessons_ after dinner every Friday to prepare themselves for the Ball.

The first lesson was disastrous. He was too busy joking around with Harry that he didn't realise McGonagall was watching him. When he was called out to the front to help her _demonstrate_ how to dance correctly, he wished for lightning to strike him down. But at least, when everyone else was asked to pair up, Ron got lucky because by helping McGonagall, he didn't have to find someone to dance with. He laughed the loudest when he saw how horribly the twins danced, tripping over their legs. He stuck his tongue out at Harry, who had immediately paired himself up with Hermione, as the guy led their best friend around. It was obvious that growing up with the Head of the Sacreds, Harry was raised to know how to dance the waltz. Hermione didn't waste this opportunity, and insisted that Harry helped her out until she got the hang of it, knowing that if Harry could do it, Malfoy certainly could as well. It would be Hermione's nightmare if she failed to keep up with Malfoy during the Ball. Being the brilliant and determined witch that she was, it took Hermione only an hour to nail it. Ron himself took the entire lesson until he could finally stop tripping over his own feet, and he was sure it was only because McGonagall personally taught him.

It was about two weeks before the Ball, and both he and Harry still had no one to go with. But Ron had a more pressing matter. The dress-robes his mother had sent him were something that he wouldn't be caught dead in. They looked like something straight out of the sixteenth century. When Harry saw his robes, the saint in him immediately contacted his Godparents so they'd get Ron new dress-robes. The ginger tried to object, but everyone knew how stubborn and adamant Harry was. He ended up accepting the robes. He lost count how many times he’d thanked Harry, and only stopped when Harry threatened to hex him if he didn't. It only took about a week until the robes were sent to him. About the same time Hermione's dress arrived too. Her dress was a pretty pinkish-purple colour. For Ron, who knew practically nothing about dresses, thought the dress was just alright. But Malfoy apparently didn't think so. When he saw Hermione's dress, Ron thought that the blond was going to have a heart attack right then and there.

"What is that _horrid_ thing?" Malfoy yelped, pointing at Hermione's dress when he came to Gryffindor's table to greet the girl.

"You're such an arse, Draco," Hermione snapped, blushing furiously and incredibly offended. "This is my dress. And if you ask me, I think it's pretty."

"Granger, don't tell me you're wearing that," the blond said, pinching the bridge of his nose tiredly as if he was trying to explain some difficult Potion theory to Hermione.

"As a matter of fact, I _am_ wearing that to the Ball," Hermione replied coolly. "Why? Do you have a problem with that, Malfoy?"

The Slytherin realised his mistake when he heard Hermione's tone, and quickly explained. "It's not like that, Gra – I mean, Hermione."

"Damn, Malfoy, after all these months and you still call her by her surname?" Ron quipped.

Malfoy flipped him off but kept his attention on the bookworm. "Your dress is okay, Hermione. But you have to understand that my parents, they're getting me these…these really fancy robes. And um…" Ron took pleasure in the way Malfoy ran a hand through his hair in frustration. "I mean, you're a girl. You get what I'm saying, right?"

"You think you'd outshine her dress," Harry said, smirking. "Wow. I didn't know you were such a – "

"I understand," Hermione said in a small voice. "But, I don't have any other dress. Even if I ordered a new one right now, my parents would kill me. That would cost a lot."

"Just leave it all to me," Malfoy said. "My mum knows someone who can make a dress real quick. I promise it'll be done a day before the Ball."

When Hermione glared at Malfoy, even Ron and Harry flinched at the ferocity.

"Draco Malfoy, are you saying that _you're_ getting me a new dress?" the bookworm said, her voice a pitch higher than usual.

"Well, um – "

"If you say yes, I'm going to hex you, Malfoy."

" _Okay, okay!_ I'm not getting you a new dress. Just give me that dress of yours, and I'll tell my mum to have it modified. There. You happy?"

_(Later on, Malfoy revealed to Harry, who then told Ron, that Narcissa refused to do what her son asked her to. The only thing she used Hermione's old dress for was to have the measurements. She simply refused that her son's date could wear something that wasn't expensive enough to bankrupt a small village. What was more curious was the fact that even Lucius supported her decision. It was much later that they found out exactly why the arrogant Pureblood had done so.)_

"Ecstatic," Hermione said with a sweet smile, reaching out to hold Draco's hand. "Thanks, Draco."

"Don't mention it." He flashed a small smile as he brought Hermione's hand to his lips.

Both Ron and Harry scowled when they heard how girls all around them sighed dreamily.

"You two are making me sick," Ron said, as Harry made gagging noises.

Immediately, Draco scowled at them. Cocking an eyebrow, he said, "Who are you two going with, boys? Oh, wait. I just remembered that Weasley here has no idea who he's supposed to ask while Potter's too chicken-shit to ask _someone._ "

"Don't you have a First Year to bully? A cat to kill?" Harry said scathingly.

"Or perhaps just die and leave us all in peace?" Ron added.

"Boys," Hermione reprimanded, like a mother would say to her insolent kids.

To both Ron's and Harry's utmost annoyance, Malfoy merely gave them an infuriating smirk.

"Hey, don't be such a sore loser, you two. Not my fault you both have no game."

"Hermione, can I _please_ hex him? Just a little bit?" Harry said.

"Draco…"

"Alright, alright. I'll leave." The blond raised one hand in mock-defeat while the other grabbed Hermione's dress and tucked it inside his bag. "Oh, one more thing, you losers."

"What is it, prick?" Ron said, slowly losing his patience. "What else do you need to say?"

Malfoy shrugged. "I just want to tell you to look beyond what's in front of you. Trust me, the solution to your dateless situation is _right_ in front of you the whole time."


	4. Finding Dates

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Yule Ball was only a week away, and Harry still had no date.
> 
> He had to think fast before it was too late.

"Hello, Harry."

Harry tripped over the step in front of him, almost bumping into Cho Chang. He had been on his way to the Owlery to deliver a message to Sirius, hoping that his Godfather could give him advice on how to ask out a girl. He wanted to ask Sirius because he remembered his Godmother's stories about the Auror being a womaniser back in the day. He really didn't expect to be running into Cho, especially not so early in the morning, in the Owlery of all the places. He wanted to smack himself in the head when instead of replying like a normal person, Harry started stuttering like an idiot. There was his chance, standing right in front of him, and he was stuttering. He had an internal argument in his head with himself, trying to convince himself that the only reason he was tongue-tied was because he was dumbstruck at how beautiful Cho looked. When he realised how stupid he must look, just standing there gawking at her like an idiot, Harry quickly spoke.

"Cho!" Harry squeaked, sounding like a dying Hippogriff. "W-what are you doing here?"

"I'm sending my mother her present. It's her birthday today," the girl replied, smiling.

"Oh, happy birthday to her. I suppose…" Harry trailed off awkwardly.

He was glad when Cho's smile widened. "Thanks, Harry. And what about you? What are you doing here so early?"

"I uh… I was going to tell my Godparents how I'm doing."

"Right… Well, um, see you later? And good luck, okay."

"Yeah, okay. Thanks."

 _Go ask her now, you bloody idiot!_ the little voice in his head yelled, sounding suspiciouslylike sodding Draco Malfoy. It was as if there was a tiny version of the git in his head.

"Hey, Cho!" he called out quickly, hoping that the girl hadn't gone too far yet.

"Yes?" she replied, coming back up the stairs again.

"Willyougototheballwithme?" he said in one breath.

Cho frowned, looking confused. "I'm sorry, Harry. What did you say? I didn't catch that."

_Nice, Potter. That was just brilliant._

_(Shut up, mini-Malfoy.)_

Taking a deep breath to calm himself, Harry repeated one more time. "I was saying… Um, do you want to go to the Ball – the Yule Ball, that is – with…with me?"

The three seconds Cho took to answer felt like three centuries to Harry.

"I'm sorry, Harry. But someone has already asked me. And I said yes."

_That's just painful. Sorry about that, Potter._

"Oh… Well, okay then. It's…it's fine," Harry choked out.

The look of pity on Cho's face made him wanted to jump off the Owlery. "I'm really sorry, Harry."

"It's nothing. Really. But uh… can I – who are you going with?"

"It's Cedric. Cedric Diggory."

_That's a tough competition, Potter. Well, at least you tried._

_(I told you, SHUT UP!)_

Harry could only nod his head as he waved Cho goodbye. He waited until the girl was gone before he let himself to fall ungraciously to the ground. Burying his face in his hands, he moaned in desperation, feeling so embarrassed he wished that his dragon had just killed him that day during the First Task. He was so wrapped up in his own misery that he didn't realise that someone else was there with him. It took the person tapping him gently on his shoulder for him to snap out of it.

"Harry? Are you alright?" Ginny Weasley said, her face flushing red a little, and worry colouring her brown eyes as they met Harry's green ones. Harry found it endearing how she was always so shy with him but menacingly fierce with everyone else.

"Hello, Gin," Harry greeted with a small smile. "And thanks for your concern. But I'm fine. Really."

"Well, okay then. That's…that's good." She nervously tucked her hair behind one ear, and for a moment, Harry wondered whether his mother had ever tucked back _her_ own hair shyly in front of his father.

"What are you doing up here in the Owlery so early, by the way?"

"Replying to Mum's letter. But I can see Errol's not here. I reckon he's with the twins."

"Oh… Well, feel free to use Hedwig. She's been looking for a chance to spread her wings."

Ginny's eyes widened to epic proportions, and it brought a smile to Harry's face. "Aren't you going to use her though?" she asked him.

"Nope. Actually, I _was_ going to use her. I wanted to send Sirius a letter. I uh, I changed my mind though. But I do come to see her often, whether I need to send a letter or not. She's a reminder of home, you know."

Ginny nodded, her own smile still on her face. "She's very beautiful. Hedwig is."

"She is… Anyway, go on, then. Go send the letter. It's okay. Your family knows her."

"Right. Um, thank you."

A few minutes of comfortable silence passed as Ginny tied her letter to Hedwig's feet. Harry watched in amusement as the ginger softly told Hedwig to take her letter to the Burrow, earning a gentle peck from the owl when she thanked the bird before it flew away. Even though he'd known Ron for four years, Harry had to admit that he rarely spent time with Ron's sister. Out of all of Ron's siblings, he was the closest with the twins. It was Hermione who got along really well with Ginny. He was aware of the girl's crush on him, which only seemed to have intensified ever since he saved her life back in his second year. So, when Ginny turned around after she'd made sure Hedwig had left safely, Harry couldn't help but to feel a little awkward and self-conscious. After all, it was the first time in two years that they were truly alone.

"I saw Cho Chang on my way here," Ginny said, trying to act casual but failing miserably.

"Yeah, she was just leaving when I got here," Harry answered stiffly, his face no doubt flushing red as he relived the embarrassing moment of his failed attempt to ask his crush to the Yule Ball.

"I see... Did you, uh, ask her to go with you?" When Harry could only stare at her in shock, the feisty ginger grinned sheepishly. "I’ve seen the way you look at her. And I kind of… talked about it with Hermione. We're friends, remember?"

"I need to remind Hermione to mind her own business," Harry grumbled, earning a chuckle from Ginny. "And no, I didn't. Well, I did. But she said no. She's going with Cedric Diggory."

"Poor Luna," Ginny said, the look in her eyes turning sombre with sympathy for her friend. "She likes him, but he sees her more as a sister. Must be the four-year age gap between them. But I think that's stupid."

"Um, yeah. I suppose so," Harry said, not knowing what else to say when it came to these things. Hermione was the one who was good with feelings and all other emotional stuff.

"It's going to break her heart, you know? Cedric's like her safety-net. He matters a lot to her. I can't imagine how distraught she will be when she finds out. Someone actually asked her to go with him, and she almost said no because she was hoping for Cedric to go with her. But if I were her, I'd probably ditch Cedric. The bloke who asked her is like, a millions times better than Cedric. She's really lucky, seriously. She'd be the only third year in attendance..."

Ginny kept on talking and talking, seemingly getting comfortable in Harry's presence. But the Seeker was no longer listening. He had just come to a realisation that would help him to get out of his current predicament. He cursed himself for taking so long to realise it, when all this time, the solution had always been there all along. Malfoy _was_ right, the annoying bastard. He should have looked beyond what was in front of him. Then again, bloody git was just as annoying as Hermione when it came to it. Both had the tendency to be annoyingly accurate most of the time. Steeling himself and hoping that Ron wouldn't bash him in the head, Harry spoke.

"Go to the Ball with me, Gin."

Almost instantly, Ginny fell quite.

"I beg your pardon?" Ginny said in a small voice.

Harry took a deep breath before he spoke. "It's just perfect, don't you think? I need a date to go to the Ball with, and you just told me that you'd love to go. U-unless you have a date already?”

“Uh, no. I… I don’t.”

“Great! So, go to the Ball with me. Please?"

"O-okay," Ginny stuttered after a while, this time with her face matching her hair. "I… I'll go to the Ball with you, Harry."

"Thank you," Harry said, grinning. "Honestly, you just saved—“

"But I don't have a dress," the girl said. "Having one made now is just impossible because we're like, only a week away. A-and I don't think my parents have the money to buy a new dress. I can always use Mum’s, I guess.”

"Ah, don't worry about it," Harry said, waving his hand. "I'll write to Marlene so she can get you one. Marlene knows _all_ best dressmakers in England."

"But Hedwig's sending my letter!"

"I forgot about that… Oh well, I guess I'll try charming McGonagall into allowing me to use her fireplace so I can Floo home about it. Or maybe I can ask to borrow Malfoy’s owl. The point is, Gin; don't worry about it, okay?"

Harry didn't even realise that he was now hugging the girl. He only thought that she needed it because she was hyperventilating. It was only when Ginny gently pushed him away, avoiding looking at him, that he finally realised what he’d done. "Whatever you say, Harry," she said, nodding her head, a small smile on her face.

"That's settled, then. I guess I'll see you – OH! I almost forgot about one more thing," Harry said quickly. He felt a little guilty when Ginny flinched at his voice.

Confused, Ginny tilted her head adorably to the side. "What is it?"

He knew Ron wouldn't _really_ kill him if he found out that Harry was taking his little sister to the Ball. Probably his ginger friend would just punch him and yell at him a little. But Harry didn't feel like going around with a bruise, or like being yelled at by Ron. And he knew there was only one solution to prevent Ron from punching him.

Grinning at a confused Ginny, Harry asked, "Does your friend Astoria have a date yet?"

* * *

She still couldn't believe it. Luna had never been more embarrassed in her entire life. She never minded what others said about her. She rarely felt embarrassed. She wasn't exactly confident, but Luna was fine with her life. It had been years since the last time she’d felt suicidal. It had been years since she’d felt _so alone._ Two years ago, Luna made a promise that no matter what, she'd never think of death as a way out. She promised _him_ that she wouldn't do that. Back then, she had no problem promising such a thing to him. She was so sure that he'd always be by her side. Luna knew that she wasn't exactly pretty. She was nowhere as attractive as feisty Ginny, and obviously nothing like sweet Astoria. But at least she had the assurance that even if she couldn't attract _the_ Cedric Diggory, her oldest friend for most of her life, the boy would never leave her. She realised it wasn't anyone's fault but her own. She knew she shouldn't have done what she did.

She shouldn't have told Cedric she loved him.

_("I’m sorry? You must be joking, right? I mean… Luna, you're like a sister to me. Don’t be ridiculous.")_

Cedric was walking her to Ravenclaw Tower. They were talking about a lot of things. As usual, Cedric did most of the talking because Luna liked hearing the Hufflepuff talk. She had no idea what pushed her to do it, but suddenly, she just blurted out how much she loved him. She realised her mistake too late, and watched anxiously as Cedric froze in shock. There was no way she could take it back, so she waited for Cedric's response. Though his words were kind, it still broke her heart to hear Cedric's reply. Tears were threatening to fall from her eyes as she quickly turned around and made a mad dash away from him. She couldn't let Cedric know how devastated she was. All around her, she felt everyone stare at her, pointing their nasty fingers at her, _laughing_ at her. She was so _stupid._ There were practically hundreds of other girls who would be more suited for Cedric. There was no way in hell he would ever choose her. The infamous Head Boy would never choose the lunatic charity case. Luna kept on running, barely aware of where she was going. The only thing she had in mind was how she had to get away, as fast away as possible, from Cedric. It didn't help that her eyes were blinded by her tears. It was a miracle that she didn't fall over. She didn't know how long she'd been running until she ran right into someone.

 _("Whoa,_ bŭdete – _vhy are you crying,_ propuskaĭ _?")_

Viktor Krum didn't talk much, but probably that was because his English wasn't very good. But since the day Luna literally ran into him, he'd been so kind to her. He always sat with her during every meal, walked her to all of her classes, and was willing to ditch his friends so he could hang out with her. With Viktor, it was one of the rare times Luna would talk about the magical creatures she and her father believed in, because Viktor actually _listened_ to her. They mostly spent their time in the library, on the other corner of the room near the Restricted Section, where no one would bother them (read: where no one would bother Viktor). It was around a month after they’d met, about two weeks before the Ball, when Viktor asked her again whether she'd go with him as his date. Luna was halfway from saying no when she saw the back of Cedric's head as he headed towards the exit of the library with _Cho Chang,_ unaware of Luna's presence. She didn't know why she did it, but at that moment, she wanted to prove to Cedric that she could do very well without him. Luna wasn't usually a vindictive person, but as she told Viktor yes, a part of her wanted to _hurt_ Cedric by doing so, even if she knew it was most likely impossible. She told Viktor to keep it a secret though, knowing the surprise would be better.

Buying a new dress would be much too expensive for her. So in the end, she asked her father to send her the dress her late mother wore during her first date with her father. It was a pale purple dress that looked a little outdated, especially since it came from the mid-seventies. But Luna thought it was perfectly fine, so she didn't think much about it. Astoria, however, didn't agree. The two of them were doing their homework together by the Lake, when the Slytherin said that she would be going to the Ball with Ron – the same Ron who was none other than the older brother of their best friend Ginny. Luna had known for some time that her raven-haired friend had a crush on Ginny's brother, probably since that day she was found locked in the empty class room. The crush seemed to grow even more, ever since that night Ron protected them from Pettigrew. Astoria told her that the other day when she and Ginny were just about to leave Charms class, Ron came up to her, with Harry by his side, and asked her to go with him. She was so taken aback that Ginny ended up answering for her, and she kept on staring at Ron for quite a while after. Their ginger friend later revealed that Harry had asked her to go to the Ball with him, and they both thought that to prevent Ron from yelling at Harry for taking Ginny, they'd set him up with Astoria. It turned out that neither Harry nor Ron had thought of asking anyone from below fourth year.

Astoria didn't dare to tell her parents about it though, because she knew they weren't really fond of the Weasleys. That made buying a new dress out of question for her. In the end, she asked her personal Elf to go get her one of her mother's old dresses, a white dress that Astoria remembered seeing her mother wear once, and that she had loved ever since. She decided to have the dress altered and refitted a little bit by a dressmaker in Hogsmeade. That was when Luna showed her friend her purple dress. The moment she saw Luna's dress, Astoria adopted the same look Draco had when he saw Hermione's dress. The Slytherin then insisted that they would take Luna's dress as well. So during their Hogsmeade visit, along with Ginny as well, they took their dresses to the dressmaker, a woman named Madam Schneider. The two girls took turns getting measured while Ginny looked around at the new designs for their dresses. Madam Schneider told them that the dresses would be done in a few hours, so they all decided to wait around in Three Broomsticks so they could catch up on what had been happening in each other's lives. Luna realised she should have said no the moment Ginny began to ask her _again_ about how Viktor had asked her to be his date. She was thankful that at least Ginny didn't talk about Cedric, even though the blonde knew Ginny wanted to.

"So, what did he say?" Ginny asked. "And where did he ask again?"

"The library," Luna answered in a flat tone. "I was doing my Transfiguration homework when he came to me. Well, he's been spending his time with me lately, watching me doing my homework. Sometimes we talk, though mostly I do the talking. I told him all about Daddy's favourite book, _Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them._ That day, I was too busy trying to finish my homework, so we didn't do much talking."

"And then he blurted out the question," Astoria said, smiling.

Luna nodded, blushing a little bit. "Yeah. He asked me whether I wanted to go to the Ball with him. It took me awhile to say yes. You know why."

"I know, Luna," the Slytherin said kindly, embracing the blonde. "And I'm _so glad_ that you said yes. Show _him_ that you don't need him anymore."

"Hey, Tori," Ginny said suddenly. "Why did you cut your hair? I mean, it looks really great on you. But your hair was _beautiful._ I was often envious of your hair, you know?"

Self consciously, Astoria ran her hand through _really_ short hair. The Slytherin had just cut her hair the previous day, with Ginny's help. Astoria never told them why, and both Luna and Ginny didn't ask. But it was obvious that Ginny couldn't help her curiosity. Astoria took a moment before answering.

"I'm tired of constantly being compared with my sister," Astoria finally said. "Back at home, everything is about Daphne. Most of the time, I just sit back and let my parents gush over my sister. Here at school, they see me as Daphne's sister – the _prettiest_ girl Hogwarts has ever seen. I hate it. I _really_ hate it. So, I cut my hair because then it'll be official that I am uglier than Daph."

"Aw, come here, you poor thing," Ginny said, hugging Astoria. "That settles it, then. This summer, you're coming back to the Burrow with me, okay? You can meet my mother, and she can gush over how bloody beautiful you are. Well, that is, if you want to come to my family's humble abode. And by humble, I'm talking about hideous. It's nothing like your fancy mansion or anything."

"Really? Y-your parents would be okay with it?"

"My brothers bring their friends home _all_ the time. And don't even get me started with Charlie and Tonks." Ginny paused, making a face as she imagined her brother and his girlfriend. It made both Luna and Astoria laugh. "Even Luna's been to my house once, in our first year. So, it's fine. As long as you've asked your parents about it, my parents won't mind. You too, Luna."

"But I can't tell my parents. I'm sorry, but my parents don't really…" Astoria trailed off, looking guilty and ashamed upon the fact that her parents looked down at the Weasleys. Ginny mellowed out at that.

"Right. I forgot about that… WAIT! I know what! Tell them you're visiting the Blacks! Tell them you're invited to Harry's birthday party. I'll be there too, of course, courtesy of Ron."

"That could work. Only problem is, they know I don't really know Harry."

"Hmm, you're right. Ugh, why are some people so prejudiced. No offense, by the way," Ginny quickly added, worried that she'd offended Astoria.

The raven-haired girl shrugged. "It's okay, really. We'll think of something, I'm sure. Thank you for the invitation, though. It means a lot to me."

"Don't mention it. We're friends, right? _Best friends._ I'll always be there for the both of you because I know you two would do the same."

Luna sensed the tone of their conversation had turned a little depressing, and she knew that both of her friends would prefer the opposite. So, for the first time ever, she initiated to change the topic. "Tell us about your dress, Gin. You said Harry asked his Godmother to deal with it."

Ginny's eyes practically shone with excitement before she launched into her story. She told them how, right after he’d asked her, he went to McGonagall and asked whether he could use her fireplace for a quick visit to the Black Manor. Long story short, after almost an hour of begging, the older witch allowed him. According to Ginny, Harry said that after he told his Godmother about how he was trying to find Ginny a dress, Marlene actually cried and pulled Harry into a tight hug, the whole time saying about how Harry was all grown-up. Harry said the moment she remembered that Harry was going with Ginny, Marlene yelled at Sirius to come down. Sirius came running down to the living room, wand at the ready, probably assuming the worst. The woman then told her fiancé that history was repeating itself because like his father, Harry was choosing a redhead to be his date. The Godparents then started yelling and dancing around, forgetting that their Godson was there. Harry ended up leaving, but only after making sure that they would send the dress at least two days before the Ball so that if there was anything that needed to be changed, there would still be time.

"The point is," Ginny said. "I _really_ don't know what my dress looks like. Even Harry doesn't know much about it either. We only know that the colour is green because the other day he gave me these really fancy green high-heels. I'll show you when we get back."

"Green would look really good on you, Gin," Luna said, earning a nod from Astoria.

"Yep. It matches Harry's eyes too," Astoria added.

"I think that's why it's going to be green. But Harry said Marlene chose green because during their Graduation Ball in 1978, Harry's parents went together and his mother wore a green dress."

"Is it the same dress?" Astoria asked.

Ginny shook her head. "Unfortunately no. The original dress was ruined on the night of the Potters' murder. I remember my parents once told me how Voldemort's failed attempt to kill Harry caused an explosion that destroyed nearly everything. It's really a pity, if you ask me. I would have loved to wear the dress."

"If you want me to, I can look at my mother's year book," Luna offered. "My mother was in the same year as Harry's parents. I bet there would be pictures of that night. You can have a look at Lily Potter's dress."

"Thanks, Luna. I'd love that."

"So, you really don't know anything about your dress except the colour?" Astoria asked.

"Yeah, that's right. Well, um, don't tell anyone, but Harry told me that Draco told him about how Sirius _and_ Lucius are spending like, enough money to feed the poor children in South Africa. He said the two are pretty competitive about it, wanting their boys' respective dates have _the_ best dresses."

"Wow, that means a lot, you know? The Blacks and the Malfoys are two of the richest families in Europe right now," Astoria said. "You're really lucky."

"Well, to be honest, I've been lucky since the moment Harry asked me to be his date," Ginny said shyly, her face going as red as her face.

"And you seem closer with him too," Luna quipped. "I noticed how you said 'Harry told me' and 'Harry said' countless times during this conversation. And don't think I haven’t seen you two spending quite a lot of time sitting next to each other during lunch, talking."

"Sometimes I forget how annoying you could be, Luna," Ginny said, sticking her tongue out at the blonde Ravenclaw.

Luna couldn't help but laugh. She felt the happiest she'd been all year. It made her realise that even if she'd lost her friendship with Cedric, at least she still had Ginny and Astoria.


	5. The Yule Ball

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's the Yule Ball, and a lot of things happened.

_("I love you.")_

Cedric never liked going to Balls. Ever since he was ten, his father always dragged him around to all of the Ministry Balls, and Cedric _hated_ it. All the dancing, the stifling robes, and the ridiculously fake conversations… he hated all that. At first, he would spend the whole night asking his father when they were going to go back home. After some time though, he learned that if he behaved really well, his father would be pleased and the chances of them getting back home earlier would be bigger too. The only positive outcome he got was the dancing. While everyone was too busy tripping over their own feet during their dance class for the Yule Ball, like he did for almost everything, Cedric aced it. Even if he didn't like it, he had to admit that he was grateful for the dance lessons he’d gotten as a child. That left him with more time to deal with the most crucial, yet horrifying, aspect of the Ball – getting a date to go with him.

Not long after he’d asked Cho Chang, Fleur Delacour came up to him one day and asked him to go with her. He pitied Ron Weasley, and probably the other fifteen boys, who had fallen under the powerful charm of the Veela-magic the French girl accidentally activated when she flirted with him. Cedric had always been a strong-willed wizard since he was a little boy, something he’d inherited from his mother, so he wasn't affected at all. The girl looked greatly insulted when he said no. But Cedric's quick-thinking saved him from her wrath when he set her up with Roger Davies, who was more than happy to go with her. They ended up as sort of friends, with Fleur always playfully sending a flirtatious wink in his way whenever they bumped into each other, and Cedric sticking his tongue out at her. He had to admire her though, for being the one who asked him out and not the other way around. When he told her that, she looked pleased and told him that he had made a good choice by taking Cho to the Ball.

Cedric had known Cho Chang since his sixth year and her fourth year, when they went against each other for the first time during a Quidditch match. Since then, they’d became quite close. During the summer, they wrote to each other. They talked about a lot of things, thought mostly, it was about Quidditch. He liked how her sweet and rather fragile look didn't give away the fiery girl she was actually was. He liked that about her. Therefore, when he realised he would have to find a date for the Ball, it didn't take him long to choose Cho. He didn't even stutter when he asked her. Instead, Cedric found it really easy, even. But as the Yule Ball came closer, no matter how many times people told him he made a good choice on choosing Cho, he knew it was _wrong._ It didn't feel right. He didn't feel the same excitement as he originally had. In fact, he felt downright miserable.

_("I love you.")_

Cedric knew that he should be happy. He was a Hogwarts champion for the infamous Triwizard Tournament. Linked to his arm, he had one of Hogwarts' most beautiful female students. Cho was wearing a golden, long-sleeved cheongsam dress. Her hair was braided to form a crown around her head, with loose curls framing her face. As they stood side-by-side, greeting his friends as they walked passed him, Cedric noticed how his mates eyed Cho appreciatively, after sending an envious glance his way. The only other girl who was more beautiful than Cho was Fleur, which was understandable. He and Cho ran into Fleur when they arrived at the Great Hall together. The part-Veela told him how dashing he looked, and complimented Cho's dress. In return, Cho politely told Fleur how pretty she was. Next to the blonde, Roger Davies looked so proud that he'd managed to snatch Fleur as his date. The two parted a while later, taking their place as a Hogwarts champion in the line McGonagall told them. Meeting Fleur cheered him up a little. It was a little weird but he actually enjoyed her company, feeling like they'd been friends for a long time. Smiling, he decided that he should stop moping, and watched the new arrivals.

The show was stolen from Cho and Fleur when Hermione Granger came down the Grand Staircase, her usual crazy curls now as straight as Cho's hair, and pinned up in a bun. The girl was wearing a pale-blue dress that looked like the most glamorous dress Cedric had ever seen. He could only imagine just how expensive that dress was. Her date, Draco Malfoy, didn't even waste a second and rushed to meet her at the bottom of the staircase, almost like he'd Apparated. The Slytherin's usual scowl was gone, replaced with a huge smile as he looked at the Gryffindor with pure adoration in his eyes. He took the girl's hand and linked it with his, winking at the brunette who beamed at him. He overheard Malfoy say something about how Granger's dress really did match his eyes, which caused the Gryffindor to giggle as the two of them went into the Hall. Cedric didn't realise everyone was staring in silence until they erupted in whispers, talking about the couple. But they all fell silent when McGonagall, who was busy listing everyone's names, dropped her list as she let out a gasp. Coming down from where Granger had been just minutes prior, were Harry Potter and Ron Weasley, and their respective dates. First came Weasley and his date, the younger Greengrass girl. The girl was wearing a white dress that made her look angelic, despite her pixie-cut hair. Cedric knew that it was rather scandalous for a Greengras, one of the top members of the Sacreds, to go with a Weasley, whom they no doubt deemed as blood-traitors. But it was obvious that McGonagall only had eyes for Potter and his date, Ginny Weasley.

" _Oh, Harry,"_ McGonagall whispered, her usually stern expression was now tender. "Merlin, you look _just_ like your father!"

"I’ve heard that a lot of times, Professor," Potter replied with a sad, small smile. "Except for my eyes. I have my – "

" – your mother's eyes, yes," McGonagall continued. She turned her attention to Potter's date, smiling fondly at the redhead. "Do you know, Miss Weasley, that seventeen years ago, the late Lily Potter wore a green dress as well when she went with James Potter to their Graduation Ball?"

"I know, Professor. And I saw the pictures. She was breathtaking," Ginny said, sharing a smile with Potter, who patted her hand graciously.

"You look just as pretty, Gin," Potter said, giving the girl a wink that made her blush. If Cedric was being honest, her dress was probably the only dress that looked just as expensive as Granger's.

Still smiling, McGonagall then told the two Gryffindors to stand in line with the other champions. Cedric heard her muttering something about how the other professors were going to be shocked as she went to reprimand Krum, whose date was still missing. In his thick accent and limited English, Krum tried to make an excuse as to why his date was late. It piqued Cedric's curiosity. He, along with all of the male population at Hogwarts, knew just how many girls wanted to be Krum's date. He was wondering about who Krum's mysterious date was, when Cedric's eyes landed on the staircase – _and felt like his heart had stopped beating._

_("I love you.")_

Taking small steps as she slowly descended the stairs, it was Luna Lovegood. She was wearing a beautiful purple dress that fit her really well. Her face was done modestly like a lot of the younger students, and her hair was brushed to the side, held by the big butterfly-clip. Her pale-blue eyes looked around nervously, unsure of everything. But she looked relieved when she saw Krum making his way toward her, looking regal as he bowed gentlemanly to her. The Bulgarian then took her hand and gave it a gentle kiss. Almost everyone – the champions and their dates, since everyone else was already inside – looked surprised, silently watching Krum take his position as the first in line with Luna by his side. Despite being rivals in the tournament, Cedric had always liked Krum. The guy was very nice, unlike what most others would think, especially since he was a sports star. But as he watched Krum speak in a low voice to Luna, who gave him a shy smile, Cedric felt this weird, burning feeling of _jealousy_ towards the international Quidditch star. If it weren't for the fact that Cho nudged him to pay attention to McGonagall, Cedric probably would have marched towards Krum so he could punch the _idiot_ in the face.

"All right then," McGonagall said, being the first one to get over the shock. "Let's start the show, shall we?"

The doors were opened, the welcome music was played, and Krum led the other champions into the Hall. The moment he walked in with Luna, all eyes immediately settled on the blonde Ravenclaw, who merely gave a polite smile to those who pointed and whispered at her. The champions and their dates took their positions in the centre of the Hall to lead the dance, and waited for the music to begin. From where he was standing, Cedric saw Luna wave at the Weasley girl, who gave her a thumbs up before putting one hand on Potter's shoulder as she held Potter's hand in the standard waltz position. Only then did Cedric realise that the music had begun to play. It was only because he had learned the dance since he was a child that he managed to avoid tripping, his body moving almost robotically as he twirled Cho around. It was several minutes later when the dance was joined by everyone else, led by Dumbledore and McGonagall. Soon, they all had to shift around to make enough space because you could only move so much when there were about two hundred people all over the place. The song changed a few times, but Cedric didn't give a damn. The whole time, he had his eyes on Luna. The blonde had a huge smile on her face, something that Cedric rarely saw. Cedric didn't even notice it when he dropped Cho's hand abruptly, as if his hand had caught on fire, when the song changed again.

"Oh, we're stopping already?" Cho asked, sounding a little disappointed. "But, um, we can take a break. If you want to."

"Yeah, a break would be nice," Cedric said distractedly, his eyes still on Luna and Krum.

"Do you want something to drink?" Cho asked again. "I'll go get – "

"Thank you," Cedric said quickly, cutting her words short. "I'll meet you by the champions' table, Cho. I'm going to go say hi to someone."

"Wait, who are you – "

But Cedric wasn't listening. He'd made his way toward where Luna and Krum were, pushing past the many dancing bodies of his fellow school mates. He was determined though, and he reached the couple in no time. Ignoring all of the proper etiquette on formal dances, he tapped Krum on his shoulder, who looked shocked to find him there.

"Diggory," the Bulgarian said, giving him a tense smile. "Iz there anything zat – "

"Can I talk to Luna? I promise it won't be long," Cedric said monotonously, almost drawling.

"Ah, vell…" Krum looked both confused and wary. "Luna, _skŭpi moĭ_ , do you vant to talk to him?"

"Oh, piss off, _"_ Cedric said rather loudly, it was fortunate that everyone was too busy dancing to the loud music to pay attention. "Go mind your own business, you snob."

Krum's black eyes darkened as he glared murderously at Cedric. But the Head Boy didn't even flinch. The Bulgarian was bigger than most of the guys at Hogwarts, but Cedric was _much_ taller. The both of them were standing nose-to-nose when Krum spoke. "Haven't you had enough, _pretty boy_? You broke her heart already."

"You – "

"Stop it, you two," Luna said, pushing the two of them apart. "Krum, you wait here, okay? I'll go talk to Cedric."

"But, Luna – "

"I'll be right back in a few minutes. Come on, Cedric."

Following Luna out of the Hall, Cedric made sure he gave Krum the two-finger salute before they both got out. He smirked in contempt at the Bulgarian, who clenched his jaw in anger. Once outside, he noticed that there was only a handful of people out there, as most of them were still in the Hall. Everything was so quiet; even the people there didn't make a sound. It caught him off guard when Luna turned around and glared at him. In all the years he’d known the girl, Luna had _never_ lost her temper. Especially not at him. But right there and then, she looked so mad at him, Cedric almost didn't recognise her.

"What do you want, Cedric?" Luna asked. Despite the look of fury flashing in her pale-blue eyes, her voice sounded remarkably calm. "Do you want to humiliate me further?"

" _What?_ Of course not!" Cedric said quickly, shaking his head. "Luna, I- I know things have been… have been a little tense between us. And I'm sorry for that. I really am."

"Okay. That's fine. I forgive you," Luna said coolly, sounding so unlike the girl he knew. "Is that it? If it is, I'll go back inside."

"Wait, wait, wait!" he called, grabbing her hand. "That's… it’s not the only thing I wanted to say."

"What else then? What more do you want to say to me?"

It took a while for Cedric to say something. "Luna, what are you doing with Krum?"

When Luna yanked her hand from his, Cedric couldn't stop himself from flinching. "He asked me to be his date. I said yes."

"Was it before or after… _that_ day?" Cedric asked awkwardly.

_("I love you.")_

_("Don’t be ridiculous.")_

"Why do you care?"

"Because I do. Y-you're my friend, Luna. I don't want anyone to hurt you."

"That's rich, coming from you."

"Luna, please – "

"Need I to remind you who was it that made me cry that day? In front of _everyone_? In front of the same people who take pleasure in making my life hell?"

"Luna, I told you, I'm sorry – "

"And I told you, I forgive you. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to go back to my date."

When Luna pushed him off of her so she could go back inside the Hall, it took him a while to realise that she had left. It was probably why he spoke so carelessly.

"He's going to hurt you!" Cedric called out. "He's a celebrity. His whole life, he's surrounded by girls. Trust me, he's going to hurt you."

"That's where you're wrong," Luna said without turning around, her voice so low that Cedric almost didn't hear her. "I was going to kill myself that day, you know. But he saved me. I ran into him, and he got me into telling him what was wrong. We’ve been friends ever since. Pretty much the same way you and I became friends, Cedric. Except I know better now not to fall in love with him."

"Luna – "

"You and Cho are perfect together. Have a nice night."

Cedric watched helplessly as the blonde went back inside the Hall. He knew he'd messed up. He’d messed up really bad. That day when Luna told him about her feelings, Cedric was completely caught off guard. All his life, he knew he cared for Luna more than what was normal. But he’d always thought that that was because they were friends. But when she said those three words, only then did Cedric realise the truth. Slowly, it became clear to him why he cared so much about the Ravenclaw. He couldn't _say_ itthough. He couldn't say the words back to her. Not when there were so many people around. He was almost five years older than her, practically an adult, seeing that he would turn eighteen in April. Luna was only thirteen, still a child. He could just imagine how people would talk. It wasn't like he was ashamed. It was more because he didn't want to smear her name. He probably wasn't as wild as his Ted Edwards, but Cedric had been with a few girls before. People had already been talking about his friendship with Luna, and most of the stuff they said was horrible.

_("I love you.")_

So that day, Cedric panicked, and did the most horrible thing he could think of.

_("Don’t be ridiculous.")_

" _Fuck,"_ Cedric groaned, lowering himself onto the floor, his back leaning against the wall. He knew it would be impossible to patch things up between them. Heck, even _he_ wouldn't blame Luna if she hated him now.

"Language, Diggory," a gruff voice said, causing Cedric to jerk in surprise. He was too deep in his own thoughts that he didn't even notice that Alastor 'Mad-Eye' Moody had come out of the Hall.

"I'm sorry, sir," Cedric muttered. "I…I thought no one was around."

"Hmm… scoot over, lover boy." Nudging Cedric aside with his foot, Moody then dropped unceremoniously beside the Hufflepuff, grunting in half-pain and half-annoyance when his leg clanged loudly against the floor. He shifted around a little with his hand in his pocket, before pulling out a flask of drink and pushing the container into Cedric's hand.

"Sir?"

"I always keep a little Ogden’s to myself. Just don't tell Dumbledore I gave it to you. Well, I guess it's alright. You're technically an adult now, aren't you, boy?"

"Um, thank you, sir," Cedric said. He noticed that the flask was different than the one he often saw Moody drink from. When the Auror told him to drink up, he nodded his head and did as he was told. He grimaced a little when he realised he hadn't eaten since that morning, judging from the way his stomach was reacting to the alcohol.

"So? What's the deal between you and Lovegood?"

The question took Cedric off guard. "We're…we're friends. But we have a little disagreement."

_("I love you.")_

"Yeah, right. And I'm Lord Voldemort." Moody huffed, looking thoroughly unimpressed with Cedric's lie. "Look, boy. If you don't want to tell me, then it's alright. I'm not going to push you. But _never_ lie to me. Greater wizards than you have tried it, believe me."

"I didn't mean to offend you, professor. I'm sorry," Cedric quickly said. "It's just… I'm a bit uncomfortable talking about it with you."

"I can understand that. It's hard talking about your feelings with _anyone._ I've been there, boy. And trust me when I say it's _horrible._ "

Cedric really couldn't imagine _the_ Alastor Moody, one of the greatest Aurors in all of Europe other than Sirius Black and Remus Lupin, as a teenager and a love-struck fool.

"How's your egg? You found a way to solve the puzzle yet?"

The whole thing with the Yule Ball had made him completely forget about it. "No, sir. I haven't. And I really don't know what to do, honestly."

"Well, have you tried dipping it into the water?"

Cedric frowned. _"Water?"_

Moody nodded his head. "Yes, son. Water. Merlin, you're not deaf, are you? Pretty sure I was pretty clear… Try dipping into the water, Diggory. It will work. Trust me."

"Thank you, sir," Cedric said, feeling a lot lighter as he shook Moody's hand. "Thank you very much."

"Don't mention it, son… we’d better go back inside, by the way. Or else people will start wondering."

"Sir?" Cedric said, before Moody went back into the Hall.

"Yeah?"

"Why are you doing this? Why do you help me?"

For a split second, Cedric thought Moody _smiled_ at him. But he thought he was imagining it when the Auror shrugged, looking as menacing as always.

"I like you, boy. You're smart. You'd be great as an Auror. And I always think you sort of remind me of someone."

"Who? I mean, if you don't mind me ask– "

But Moody had gone back inside the Hall. Cedric was frozen in his spot for quite some time. He found the whole encounter bizarre. There was the little part of him, the part that always did his rational thinking for him, that felt a little suspicious. He pushed it aside though, telling himself he was just being paranoid because he had a rather bad night. Straightening his suit, Cedric went back inside and looked for Harry Potter.

He had a debt to pay.

_("I love you.")_

_("Don’t be ridicu – ")_

(Shut up, brain.)

* * *

When his mother told him that he wasn't allowed to see the dress, Draco was annoyed. He wanted to know how Hermione's dress looked like so he could imagine how she looked in it. But his mother was insistent, saying that it would all be a surprise. The only thing his mother said about the dress was that the colour matched his eyes. So Draco spent the rest of the days before the Ball picturing how the dress looked whenever he saw his own reflection in the mirror. It wasn't that easy though. His eyes were grey, like the rest of the Malfoy-Black men, and he could conjure up a thousand different dresses with that colour in mind. In the end, he relented to waiting for the day of the Yule Ball. He tried hard not to badger Hermione into telling him about her dress when she got the dress from his mother. Not only she would hex him for it, but also because he finally agreed that if the dress was a surprise, it would be so much better. So he waited for the day of the Ball, counting down the days impatiently.

And the wait was _definitely_ worth it.

He was waiting with Blaise and Theo by the front door of the Great Hall, and his friends were also waiting for their dates respectively. Theo was going with Tracey Davis while Blaise was going with Daphne Greengrass. When Diggory came with Chang, he couldn't help but to scowl at the back of the Hufflepuff's head. Draco had always been observant, and because he weirdly enough cared for Lovegood, he had always known about the girl's crush on the older boy. It was actually pretty obvious, and Draco thought Diggory was a huge arse for not realising it in the first place. Oh, he knew about the fight the two had had. Probably everyone in Hogwarts knew, including the professors. Easy to say, Diggory wasn't exactly his favourite person at the moment. His glare at the Head Boy was interrupted when Fleur Delacour came into his view, flirting with Diggory. Hastily, he told his friends to look away, lest they did something stupid like Weasley had. For some reason, Draco was never that affected when the part-Veela, (a little information he’d gotten from Potter), was around. It could be because Draco had Veela ancestors too. But he preferred his mother's explanation, the one about how men who truly loved their partners would never be affected by the Veela Charm. He never thought about it, but he always liked entertaining the idea that what he felt for Hermione was something _that_ strong.

He realised that it _was_ something more than a crush when the girl walked down the staircase.

Hermione was…beyond description. Draco had always been popular for being very eloquent, especially around girls. But when he saw Hermione, all of his brilliant vocabulary, filled with various adjectives, left him. Hermione was wearing a pale-blue chiffon dress that kind of matched his eyes. The bodice was studded with sparkly material that shimmered under the light, and the rest of the dress was long and flowy, making her looked like a princess. Draco moved almost automatically towards the girl, and his cheeks almost hurt as he felt his lips tug into a huge smile. Linking his hand with hers, he gave her a wink and told her that her dress did match his eyes. He knew he should tell her how beautiful she looked, but right at that moment, he couldn't come up with any single decent compliment that served her beauty justice. Except for their friends, the moment everyone saw him with Hermione, they all began to talk. He had expected it though, so he ignored them all. He felt Hermione tense beside him, and he patted her hand gently to assure her that she shouldn't worry about the rumours and gossip. When he told her that, she looked at him in a way that told him how annoyed she was at him.

"What?" he asked, confused.

"By now, you should have known I don't care about rumours and gossips. I'm worried that some vengeful _idiot_ would try to hurt you again," Hermione said, taking one of his hands and put it on her face, reminding him of the event just a few months prior.

Draco was touched. During his recovery after the torture he’d endured, Hermione had _never_ left his side. She always took care of him, keeping him company when she didn't have a class. She even stayed during night time, making sure he knew she was always with him whenever he woke up screaming from a nightmare. He was pretty sure that by then, he wasn't the only Malfoy who liked her. It didn't take his mother long to get along with Hermione, and he was mostly convinced that the same went for his father. Sure, Lucius didn't really show it like his wife did. But the little gestures, such as inviting the girl to the Quidditch World Cup and spending so much money for her dress, were solid enough proof.

Caressing the girl's cheek softly with his thumb, Draco said, "Don't worry about me. I'll be fine. _We_ will be fine. I promise."

The bookworm looked sceptical, but thankfully she didn't argue him with that. Luckily for Draco, the doors were opened soon after, and all of the Triwizard Champions walked in with their partners. The first pair was Viktor Krum and Luna Lovegood – much to everyone's utmost surprise. Draco himself was a little taken aback as well. But he was glad that the blonde was going with Krum, wearing a dress that fit her perfectly. The second pair to enter was Delacour with Roger Davies, and Draco knew that he wasn't the only one who wanted to throw a punch at Davies' cocky grin. Draco noted with pleasure the scowl on Diggory's face when he walked in with Cho Chang as the third in line, who looked quite pretty in her golden cheongsam, Draco had to admit. Last but not least, it was Potter and Weaslette, whose green-dress was probably the only dress in the room that rivalled Hermione's. Draco saw almost every professor freeze for a split second when he saw Potter and Weaslette – especially his Godfather. Severus Snape looked like he'd seen a ghost, his face paling and his black eyes widening in shock. They all got over it rather quick though, especially Dumbledore, who told Flitwick to immediately start the music.

It was probably the best time in his all fourteen years of life. He danced with Hermione many times, smiling fondly at the way the girl giggled every time he twirled her around. At first, she was a little tense, worrying too much over her steps. But after Draco told her to relax and let him lead, she danced brilliantly – like everything she did. He lost count how many songs they danced to. He didn't even realise that some time after the second song, he too was grinning and laughing like the girl. They only stopped when the band took a break. The two agreed that they'd go take something to drink before heading outside for a walk. His attention was all set on the bookworm beside him, who kept on talking about everything. Like it always was whenever he was with her, the blond barely listened to anything she said. He liked hearing her talk, even though he never really paid attention. The fact that she looked really beautiful that night just added to why he wasn't paying attention. He couldn't even get over how her doe-eyes shone in excitement as she talked about a mile a minute, how her crown-braid hair made her look somewhat ethereal, and how her dress suited her really well. They walked down the shores of the Black Lake, away from the majority of people who were either inside the castle or someplace else doing Merlin-knew-what.

"What do you want to do now?" Hermione asked, suddenly stopping. She'd taken off her heels and was holding them in one hand. Over her shoulders was Draco's suit jacket, effectively protecting her from the chilly winds.

Draco frowned. "What? What do you mean?"

"Well, we've been walking around for half an hour now. I've probably talked your ear off by now. What do you want to do next? Do you want to go back to dancing?"

"No, not really. Can we…" Draco trailed off, not wanting to sound too sappy.

Hermione cocked her head to the side. "Yes? Can we what?"

Swallowing the lump in his throat, Draco continued. "Let's just stay here. Talk some more. I promise _I_ will say something too."

Hermione chuckled and nodded her head. The lowered themselves under the tree by the Lake, and leaned on the bark, sitting closely next to each other. The bookworm didn't even waste her time, quickly reminding Draco of his promise. "Well? What are we going to talk about now, Draco?"

"Honestly? I don't know."

"You _don't_ know? You? The one guy who talks more than Harry and Ron combined?"

Draco scowled. "It's your fault for looking so bloody beautiful, Granger. I have to send my parents a thank-you gift because of you. I mean, from the moment you went down the stairs, I found myself unable to say something coherent. You're simply breathtaking to look at. My mind goes blank every time I look at you. And I think I can say the same for about eighty percent of the male population here."

"Shut up, Malfoy," Hermione said, rolling her eyes despite the blush on her face. "I don't look half as good as Ginny or Cho Chang do, let alone Fleur Delacour."

"Who said that? Show me the idiot who said that so I could give him a hex or two."

" _But it's true!_ I'm always the smart one. Never the pretty one. Haven't you seen the way I look every day? My plain face and monstrous hair?"

"Hermione, believe it or not, I don't care about your plain face and monstrous hair. I asked you to go to the Ball with me, didn't I?"

"That doesn't mean you think I'm pretty."

"Bloody hell, Granger – _we're practically dating by now!_ Ever since the end of our second year, we've been together all the time. I know we've never made it official, but I thought you were smart enough to deduce it. I wouldn't have dated you if I didn't you were pretty."

"Oh, so now you're saying that you date me because of my looks? Nice to know that, Malfoy. Nice to know that the guy that I _really_ like a great deal only – "

Draco lost it. Hermione was just _so annoying._ Growling under his breath, the blond cupped the girl's face with his hands, and silenced her with a kiss. It started out a little sloppy at first because not only they were both inexperienced, but Hermione was still ranting when he pressed his lips against hers. But it didn't take them long to fall into the same rhythm as instincts took over. Draco's left hand went to wrap around Hermione's waist to pull her closer while his right hand went to cup the back of her head, tilting it to an angle that would make it easier for him to kiss her. Hermione's own hands had found their way around Draco's neck, pulling him even closer to deepen the kiss. The blond had pictured kissing the bookworm many times before, since the day he turned thirteen and realised what he felt for the girl was more than a simple crush. He had to say, whatever he’d imagined before was _no way_ as amazing or as breathtaking as the real thing. Her lips were soft against his, and the cute noises she made got him thinking of ungentlemanly thoughts. It took a great deal of willpower for him to push her off of him, and he let out a shuddering breath at the effort.

"Wow," Hermione breathed, sounding out of breath.

"Is that enough proof for you, Granger?" Draco asked, also panting. "Or do you want more?"

"No, no, no," the girl quickly said, face flushing furiously, which made Draco laugh. "It's enough proof for me."

Draco grinned and gave Hermione's lips a quick peck. "So? What do you say?"

"About what?" Hermione asked back, though the glint in her eyes told him that she knew already what he meant.

Pulling the girl in for another round of kissing, though shorter this time, he asked the question.

"Will you be my girlfriend, Hermione?"

The grin on the Gryffindor's face was absolutely naughty, Draco was tempted to snog her senseless again. "Took you long enough to ask, Draco."

The Slytherin couldn't stop himself from kissing her again. He didn't even care when she let out a loud squeal.

Hermione Granger had agreed to be his girlfriend, and that was all that mattered.


	6. Wedding of the Century

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It had been a long time coming after all.

_("Promise me something. Please.")_

_("Anything. I'll promise you anything, love.")_

_("You have to let me go first. Let me go first, Marlene, because I can't_ stand _living without you. And I promise I'll come find you on the other side.")_

When Sirius finally came back home, he only got a glimpse of the Manor's living room before his fiancée jumped on him and hugged him tightly, burying her face in the crook of his neck. His heart broke as he listened to Marlene's sobs, feeling guilty that he'd caused her so much sorrow. Cupping her face with his hands, Sirius didn't waste any time and he kissed the love of his life, making sure that she understood from the kiss how much he loved her and missed her, and that he was sorry that it had taken him so long to come back home to her. He’d barely pulled away from Marlene when Harry squeezed himself in between the couple, hugging Sirius just as tightly as Marlene was. The boy had gotten so _tall,_ and there was an ache in Sirius' heart when he realised how much he'd missed in only a year. He turned his attention to Payne and Hunter, giving the both of them kisses on their foreheads. They were all his children, and he and Marlene were their parents. They were his family, and he'd die a thousand deaths for them.

Regulus was the second one to greet him after Marlene and his children. He knew how Regulus had insisted on going with Remus when the werewolf took Charlie and Tonks to see him at Bathilda's house. If it weren't for the fact that he was dealing with the Triwizard Tournament, the younger Black would have come as well. Therefore, when Regulus nearly tackled him to the ground to hug him, Sirius let him. Despite their age, Sirius sometimes still saw his brother as the shy and timid five year old who used to come to his room during thunderstorms. They had been separated for almost two decades, and they had only just gotten close again. It felt cruel when he’d been captured and Regulus had had to be the one to see it. But at least now he was back home, with the brother he loved deeply. Sirius would make sure that he would do his best to keep his family safe, and never leave them again.

That was why Sirius nearly lost it when he found out that somehow, Harry's name had come out from the Goblet of Fire. Just when he’d thought everything would be alright, his boy had become a part of the legendary, dangerous tournament. It took Remus talking him out of it to stop him from _hexing_ Crouch, whom he suspected of entering Harry's name. He knew how the sadistic bat disliked Marlene strongly due to the fact that she outranked him. Sirius felt it was perfectly reasonable for him to sue Crouch, even though he realised that his number one suspect should be Igor Karkaroff, who was an ex Death Eater. But good ol' Remus told him to take it easy and leave it to Dumbledore to take care of everything. Sirius only agreed when he remembered that Moody would be teaching DADA that year, leaving the post of Head Auror for Sirius to take over. The Pureblood knew that with both Dumbledore and Moody around, Harry would be safe.

"What are you thinking about, love?" Marlene asked, snapping Sirius out of his reverie.

It was in the middle of the night, and they were in bed together. Marlene was tracing the BLOOD TRAITOR scar on Sirius' chest that the Death Eaters had carved into him. When she had first seen it, Marlene had burst into tears, alerting everyone else in the Manor. Long story short, Sirius successfully traumatised his family by accidentally showing them the scar. Remus and Regulus got really mad about it, and they swore to make all the Death Eaters pay for what they did to Sirius. Dorcas tried everything she knew about Healing to make the scar go away, but it was to no avail. Irina suggested having it removed the Muggle way, and Sirius did as she suggested. But again, it didn't work. The only one who didn't fuss about it was Harry, but that was only because the boy knew how much Sirius hated it when they did. Ever since then, except when he was with Marlene in their room, Sirius took extra care to cover it up.

"Nothing," Sirius replied, giving Marlene a quick peck on her lips. "I was just thinking who was it that had entered Harry’s name into the Tournament."

"Hm… Well, if you ask me, I don't think it matters who put his name in. I think it's more important for us to find the solution to all of Harry's tasks."

Sirius smirked. "Isn't that called _cheating_ , Minister McKinnon?"

"Not really, no," Marlene laughed. "It's not cheating as long as no one finds out about it. And I bet you all the other champions get help."

"You're right. You're _always_ right, love."

"That's because I know how dumb you can be, Mister Auror."

"Again; you're right."

The coupled shared a long, deep kiss. Without breaking the kiss, Marlene shifted herself around so she was straddling the handsome Pureblood. This prompted Sirius to chuckle. "Mar, if you keep this up, we're going to have to explain to Harry why he's getting _another_ sibling."

"All right, all right," Marlene huffed mockingly, resorting to lying on top of Sirius, her head pressed on her fiancé’s chest. "We're not going to do anything tonight. _Fine_."

The couple shared a laugh before falling into a comfortable silence. They were quiet for some time in that position, both of them lulled by the calming sound of each other's breathing. It was a while later when Sirius broke the silence. "Do you… do you remember that day when you found me up in the Astronomy Tower?"

_("Black? What are you doing? Were you thinking of jumping?")_

Marlene tensed a little. "To be honest, it's not… it's not exactly a memory that I look back on fondly. But yeah, I- I remember that day."

_("Sod off, McKnickers. What do you care anyway.")_

"Actually, I wasn't going to jump... I know Lily didn't tell you, but the night before, she saw me stumbling into the common room, bloody and bruised. She took me to the newly hired Madam Pomfrey, and insisted I got taken care of. That was pretty much how the fiery little flower and I became friends, really."

"What were you doing then, up there? If you weren't going to jump?”

There was a long pause before Sirius answered.

"I… I was praying."

To say that Marlene was caught off guard would be an understatement. After all, no matter how much Sirius tried to deny his heritage, the man was, first and foremost, the _purest_ of all Purebloods. There was a reason why he was one of the most feared Purebloods in all of Europe.

"And what did you pray for?" Marlene asked slowly, once she had recovered from the shock.

"I prayed for a miracle," Sirius said, looking straight into Marlene's eyes with pure love and adoration in his stunning grey eyes. "I had no one, remember? I had just been disowned, my brother wouldn't talk to me, and I’d just got into a fight with my friends. So, I asked the Big Guy for a miracle, if He truly was the divine and ultimate Being in our universe, like what the Muggles believe. I told Him that I needed a reason for me to keep going – for a _miracle._ And then you came, the miracle I asked for."

Marlene could still remember that night very clearly, as if it just happened the other day. The year was 1976, and it was their sixth year. Everyone had heard of the news about Sirius being disowned by his parents just a week before the summer ended. Being neighbours with the Longbottoms, who were part of the Sacreds, Marlene knew from her brother, who was friends with Frank Longbottom, about how Fleamont Potter had immediately granted his protection over Sirius the moment he Flooed into the Potter’s household, barely alive because of all the beatings he’d received from his parents. As the Heir to the Black fortune, Sirius had to deal with a lot of the Slytherins who felt that since he was no longer an official Black, they could do whatever they wanted with him. Typical of Sirius, instead of reporting it to his friends at the very least, the proud bastard took it upon himself to deal with all of them.

One day, he just snapped.

 _("I get that life's been a bitch to you, but to risk_ two _lives because you felt like you had had enough… For Merlin's sake; one of them is your own best friend!")_

_("I know. I'm sorry. Prongs, I really – ")_

_("Don't call me that. Only my friends_ _are allowed to call me by that name.")_

_("No… Don't say that. Don't… don't do this.")_

_("And to think, I wanted you to be my_ brother…" _)_

_("James, please – ")_

_("You disgust me, Black. Turns out you're no different than_ them. _")_

Marlene had never seen someone so heartbroken.

"I fell for you right then and there, you know?" Sirius said softly as he absentmindedly traced circles on her arm. "With Evans, it was different. She was fussy. _Mothering._ Told me what to do and what not to do the whole time I stayed in the infirmary. You though, you were different. You've _always_ been different. When you walked into the Astronomy Tower that night, I knew you'd be the one to guide me through everything. You're my light when everything else is darkness, Mar."

"Why did you purposely cheat on me though? In seventh year. We'd been going out for a few months, and everything was going so well." It had been almost two decades and Marlene was still bitter about that. She always hated the thought that there had been other girls that had kissed Sirius.

Sirius sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. "I told you I did it because I was scared. I was so in love with you, and yet I didn't have anything to offer you. And I heard from Longbottom how your parents were looking into marrying you off with someone who _wasn't_ a troublesome punk like me. It wasn't easy but for your happiness, I willingly traded my own."

"Thank goodness Remus and Dorcas got together in time to knock some sense into us," Marlene said, mock-glaring at Sirius. "And I swear to Merlin, Sirius; if you do something like that again, I'll rip your balls off with my bare hands. You’re not allowed to make my decisions for me."

"Love," Sirius laughed, burying his face in Marlene's hair. "If I ever do something like that again, I'll personally hand over my balls to you. Though technically, you've owned them since that day you walked out onto the Astronomy Tower."

The couple shared another round of laughter, feeling true contentment for the first time in years. Christmas was coming in a week, and they had a relatively calm year, save for the fact that Harry was a Triwizard Champion. They had _three_ amazing children whom they loved dearly, two nephews and a niece that they adored so much, and brothers and sisters that they trusted more than anything. Marlene didn't think it was possible for her life to get any better because all she’d ever wanted was a nice life that she could enjoy with her family.

That was, until Sirius decided to break the silence again.

"Hey, Mar?"

"Yeah?"

"Let's get married."

* * *

Ron had only been to a wedding once before, in all of his fourteen years of life. He was only seven back then. It was the marriage of one of his father's many cousins, who then moved to Switzerland just months after the wedding. That was the only wedding he'd ever been to. Having six siblings meant that it was impossible for his parents to take them all to weddings and such, unless it was family. As a boy, Ron didn't care much about it. From the only wedding he'd been to, Ron had already decided that if he ever got married, it would be the simplest wedding of the century. He'd only invite his really close friends and direct family. He simply didn't have the patience to deal with all of the details required for weddings. Besides, since his family was rather poor, he thought that a simple wedding would be the best option.

That was why his eyes still couldn't believe how _grand_ everything was, as he entered the main entrance of the Black Manor, where the wedding of the century was being held.

_The wedding of Sirius Black and Marlene McKinnon._

The wedding was held on Christmas Day, with only six days of preparation. Everyone called it a fairytale wedding because of how amazing it was for such a fancy and glamorous wedding to be held with such little preparation time. Ron heard from Harry that there would be two thousand people in attendance, and that it was all the work of Andromeda Tonks and Narcissa Malfoy. With two children and one Godson, and their own respective jobs demanding their time, Sirius and Marlene trusted the two Black sisters to take care of everything. According to Harry, his Godfather merely gave a _large_ sum of money to his cousins, saying that he didn't care what the sisters planned for the wedding as long as it was safe from danger and unwanted visitors, such as reporters like Rita Skeeter. Since the instructions were so very vague, the two women agreed that once the safety issue was dealt with, they'd use the rest of the budget to make sure Sirius and Marlene had a great wedding.

However, Ron later found out that there was actually one other request that Sirius had made.

And he found out about it with the rest of the guests once the wedding started.

_"Ladies and gentlemen, we are all gathered here to celebrate the union of two souls; my own big brother and the love of his life."_

"I don't know Mr Black could marry off people," Ron heard Hermione whisper to Malfoy. She was sitting next to the blond in the front row, seeing that she was without her parents because they were Muggles. The wedding had just begun, and she wasn't the only one who was a little taken aback upon seeing Regulus Black acting as the wedding minister.

"As Head of the Sacreds, he's allowed to do practically _everything,"_ Malfoy explained slowly, tilting his head to the side so that Hermione could listen to him. "The Founding Families, formally and legally known as _Fundactricis Familias,_ were the ones who not only founded the Ministry, but also the ones who came up with _Lex Magicae –_ the Law of Magic. There are seven families that are known as part of the Familias. They are the Blacks, the Malfoys, the Longbottoms, the Gaunts, the Ollivanders, the Fawleys and the Potters. Out of the seven families, the Potter family is the only one that is no longer included in the Sacreds, because of their rather… impure status in the eyes of Pureblood Law. Anyway, because the Head of the Black family has always been the Head of the Sacreds for centuries, one of the rules they made was about the Head of the Sacreds having the power to marry off people."

The look of pure admiration on Hermione's face as she listened to Malfoy's explanation made Ron want to puke.

"You really have to show me the books about the Sacreds one day," Hermione said, looking at Malfoy as if he’d just proposed to her.

"Of course," Malfoy replied with a smile, giving the girl's hand a kiss.

Apparently, Ron wasn't the only who’d had enough with the interaction between the couple.

"Draco, stop talking," Lucius said flatly. "You can continue romancing Miss Granger after the ceremony is done."

"Yes, Father," Malfoy replied, chastised.

"Do you, Sirius Orion, take Marlene Elizabeth…?"

Ron was sure that Sirius was barely listening to a word his brother said, judging from the way he was staring at Marlene. From the moment Marlene walked down the aisle with Remus Lupin, the handsome Pureblood's eyes were practically glued to the stunning vision that was his future wife. Standing beside the groom was Harry, who had cried when Sirius had asked him to be his best man. Dorcas Lupin was maid of honour while Irina Black was a bridesmaid with Nymphadora Tonks. Little Payne was the flower-girl-slash-ring-bearer. The three year old insisted to her parents that she was more than capable of doing both jobs all by herself. Ron might not know a lot about weddings, but from what he saw, he could tell that everything was going smoothly.

"And by the power vested in me as the Head of the Sacred Twenty Eight, I hereby pronounced you bonded for life. Brother, you may now snog your newly married wife."

There was a round of chuckles from all of the guests as Regulus waved his wand over Sirius and Marlene, and the silver rain that came from his wand slowly turned into a glowing golden ribbon that surrounded the newly married couple, as the Bonding Charm officially Sealed them as coupled for life. The guests all clapped when Sirius spent a good twenty-five seconds kissing Marlene, earning cheers and whistles as well, especially when they finally pulled apart. A House-Elf then made an appearance, announcing that the reception would be held in the vast backyard of the Black Manor. In unison, everyone moved from the Manor's grand ballroom to the backyard, where there were tables and chairs set for the guests. Ron was quite surprised that his family was included in the VIP area with the Tonks, the Malfoys, and the Longbottoms. They were all given a piece of cake and wine, (or juice for the underage), as they waited for the groom and bride to make their entrance.

The newly married Blacks' entrance was accompanied by the sound of an unfamiliar song that Ron could only guess was a Muggle one. Everyone cheered as the couple went to take their positions to start their first dance. From where he was sitting, Ron heard Hermione squeal that the title of the song was _Annie's Song_ by a Muggle American singer named John Denver, also adding that she absolutely loved the song. Ron had to agree that the song really was beautiful, and fit the occasion very well. The Lupins and the other Black couple were the ones who first joined the dance, the men taking their respective wives to their positions not far from the married couple, who looked far too engrossed with each other to realise that the first song had ended. Shortly before the second song ended, Ron saw Harry make his way toward him. Thinking that his best friend wanted to talk to him, Ron waved his hand at the green-eyed bloke. Therefore, it was perfectly understandable for Ron to be shocked when Harry gave his hand to Ginny and asked her to dance with him, causing his little sister to blush furiously. On the other table, refusing to accept the fact that he'd been one-upped, Ron saw Malfoy quickly ask Hermione to dance with him. By the time the third song had begun, a lot of people had joined the dance as well.

The twins were the first of the Weasleys to join the dance with their Quidditch team mates, Angelina Johnson and Katie Bell. They were both invited to the wedding as Harry’s guests, much to their pleasant surprise. Fred was dancing with Angelina while George was with Katie, trading their partners every now and then with an ease that Ron hadn’t seen back when McGonagall was giving them dancing lessons. The twins were and their partners were joined by their parents shortly after, followed by Charlie and Tonks who quickly stole the show with their dancing when the music changed into something more upbeat. Percy, on the other hand, had gone to talk with his friend Oliver Wood instead of dacing. The both of them were walking side-by-side along the edge of the forest that was still part of the Black property. Ron remembered Harry telling him one day that the forest that surrounded the Black Manor was as ancient as the one that surrounded Hogwarts. The young Seeker said that the land had been the property of the Black family since the very first Black, Arthfael, who was said to be part-fae. It was believed that he was the illegitimate son of the Queen Mab of the Winter Court. According to Harry, magic felt extremely strong during winter times all over the property. There were times when he noticed how Sirius' and Regulus' appearances looked rather different during winter; their skin lightened and their hair darkened almost to a blue-black shade. Harry suspected that their fae bloodline was part of the reason why the brothers were such great wizards, and why they seemed to be more comfortable at the Manor than anywhere else.

"Well damn, Ginny looks like she's going to explode," Bill whistled, eyeing their little sister. The oldest Weasley was the only one left sitting with Ron.

"She looked exactly like that during the Yule Ball too," Ron answered, smiling fondly even though he had half a mind to punch Harry for having the audacity to ask his little sister to dance _two times._

"What about you, kid? Who did you go to the Ball with? I heard from Percy that you did go with _someone_."

Ron felt his ears go red instantly, and he knew he was right when he saw the smirk on his big brother's face. "I'm going to kill that prat," Ron muttered, earning him a chuckle.

"How did you get to go with the daughter of a Slytherin Sacred anyway?" Bill asked, sobering up with a curious look on his face. "The Slytherin Sacreds are known to be very prejudiced. Most of them look down on us Weasleys because they consider us blood-traitors, even though we're in the Sacreds too. And she's a _Greengrass_ , one of the most pompous of the lot. I went to school with her cousin, you know. He was an arrogant prick."

"I don't feel like talking about it, to be honest. I think I'll go get some air."

 _"Aw, come on!_ We're already outside, for Merlin's sake!"

"Talk to you later, brother."

Ron ignored his big brother calling out his name, and made his way into the Manor. He'd been there a couple of times before, and even though he hadn't completely memorised everything, he knew enough to make his way around to the room where he usually stayed whenever he came to visit. His conversation with Bill brought back memories of the Yule Ball. When Harry had told him that he should go and ask Astoria Greengrass to the Ball, Ron thought that his friend had gone crazy. The Seeker explained that it was the perfect solution to Ron's dateless problem, seeing that Harry was going with Ginny. Ron still found it hard to believe that Harry had suggested such a thing to him, no matter how many times Harry repeated his suggestion. He even forgot to punch Harry in the face when the young Seeker revealed, _carefully,_ that he was taking Ginny to the Ball. Ron barely knew the Greengrass girl, except for the fact that she’d befriended his little sister, and that she was the younger sister of Malfoy's housemate. In the end, Ron had agreed that his best friend was right. So, just a week before the Ball, Harry took Ron to Ginny's Charms class that she shared with her Slytherin friend.

_("You… Well, um, you look nice, Green - I mean, Astoria.")_

_("Thank you… Y-you don't look so bad either, Mr Weasley.")_

All his life, Ron was told by his parents to be wary of Slytherins. He didn't hate them, but he _was_ wary of people from the House of the Serpent. When he’d first met Malfoy, there had been an instant animosity between them. It was no secret that Arthur Weasley and Lucius Malfoy were enemies back when they’d been at Hogwarts. It was only to be expected that their children would inherit the feud as well. Therefore, Ron truly hadn’t seen the possibility of himself being somewhat civil with the young Malfoy. If he was to be honest, he could now even call the Slytherin a friend _._ But Ron accepted it, no matter how preposterous it was. After all, despite everything else, both he and Malfoy had something in common, which was their love of Quidditch. The fact that they both cared deeply for Hermione _and_ Harry just added to their weird friendship. After four years, Ron no longer had a problem accepting Malfoy as his friend.

However, the last thing he expected, was to meet someone like Astoria Greengrass.

The sweet, soft-spoken, and lovely Slytherin who was like an angel among the malicious, devilish snakes.

Harry and Ginny had agreed that they'd go with Ron to pick up Astoria from the Slytherin dungeon, lest any older Slytherins would try to hex Ron and Astoria if they were alone. Ron was a little apprehensive, still worrying that he looked terrible in his dress robes, even though they were ones that Harry's family had bought for him. The thought flew right out of his mind when he saw Astoria standing patiently in front of the entrance to the Slytherin common room. She was wearing a white, halter-necked, mermaid dress that fit her newly-cut hair perfectly. Her make-up was modest, a lot like his sister's, but that had only made her look even more angelic, especially when her big blue eyes sparkled at the sight of him. Ron knew he wasn't that good with words. His mouth had no filter, and he often stumbled over his own words when he was nervous. But he was convinced that he had dumbed down by eighty percent at the sight of the petite Slytherin.

The two made quite the impression when they came together, hand in hand. Nearly all of the Slytherins glared at her, their disapproval very obvious. Except for Malfoy and his friends, the Slytherins all had hostile looks in their eyes, even Astoria's own big sister. He felt how his date shrunk in fear at their scrutiny, and like a switch, he instantly became protective of her. Tightening his grip around her hand, Ron pulled her closer, as if to say that anyone who dared to mess with her had to deal with him. That seemed to anger the Slytherins even more, and Ron knew that if it wasn't for the fact that all of the professors were gathered there in the Hall with them, those stuck-up Purebloods would probably have sent a hex or two their way. They had a great time together, dancing along to Merlin-knew how many songs. When it was time for bed, Ron dropped her off in front of the Slytherin common room, after making sure that one of Malfoy's friends, Nott, would look after her.

" _Ow!"_ a girl squeaked when Ron ran right into her, just metres away from the room where he was headed. She was half-running, and the force caused her nearly to fall over. Luckily for her, Ron was quick enough to catch her hand before she fell.

"Merlin, I'm sorry. I didn't – Astoria?" Ron said, even when he felt his ears going red at the thought that the girl he had been thinking about suddenly just appeared right in front of him.

"Oh, hi, Ronald," the girl muttered, tucking a loose strand of hair behind her ear nervously. "I- I thought you were Potter."

Ron smiled, shaking her head. "Nah, it's just me. Harry's out there, dancing with my sister. Seeing at the rate he's going, I have no doubt that he'll probably ask her out next year."

"Well, that's good," Astoria replied, also smiling. "Merlin knows how long Ginny has liked him. I mean, she's had the biggest crush on him since forever, right?"

"Yeah. Except, I think Harry also likes Cho Chang." When he thought how it'd break Ginny's heart if Harry asked Chang out instead of his sister, Ron suddenly felt like breaking his friend's nose.

"Really?" Astoria asked, looking surprised.

"Yeah. Just don't tell anyone about it," Ron quickly added.

It made the Slytherin smile again, and Ron decided that she had a pretty smile. "I won't tell anyone. I promise."

They were quiet for sometime until Ron felt the atmosphere was getting too awkward. "What are you doing here? In here, I mean. I saw your family out there, sitting with the Notts."

"I was looking for the loo… What about you?"

"I'm going to my room, to avoid my annoying brother. Harry and his family are nice enough to give me my own room, since I spend a lot of time here during the holidays. I think Hermione and Malfoy have their own as well. Separately, of course. Not together because that would be highly inappropriate." Ron felt like slapping himself in the face for being so stupid.

"Of course," Astoria said, smiling as she nodded her head in agreement, seemingly uncaring of the fact that Ron had just babbled like an idiot. She tucked another loose strand of hair behind her ear before speaking again. "Well, I think I should I go back. My parents are probably looking for me."

"I'll walk you back in," Ron offered. He was a little taken aback when Astoria quickly shook her head.

"No, I don't think that'd be a good idea," she said, giving him a sad smile. "It's not that I don't want you to. I just… My parents didn’t like it when my sister told them I went to the Ball with you. So…"

"I get it," Ron said, reaching out for her hand to give it a light squeeze. "I'm not offended, really. I'm used to it."

"I'm sorry. I really am," Astoria said, patting their clasped hands with her free one.

Ron shook his head, smiling in assurance. "Don't worry about it, Astoria. You go ahead then, lest your parents send out a search party."

Her laugh sounded like the soft chime of a bell, almost pixie-like. She gave him a departing nod before she made her way to the backyard. Before she took a turn, she stopped and turned around toward him. "You're a good person, Ronald Weasley. You really are."

"Thank you," Ron said, feeling himself beaming at her. "And I told you to call me Ron, didn't I?"

Astoria laughed. "Well, only if you promise to call me Tori."


	7. The Calm

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Everything was going well.

"That's Gillyweed for real?"

"Yeah."

"Are you sure?"

"Of course, I—“

"So you can guarantee that's not some _poisonous,_ Tibetan roots instead?"

"N- no, I swear—“

"Because you wouldn't want to go to Azkaban for accidentally killing _the_ Harry Potter."

"Back off, Malfoy," Harry grumbled, elbowing the blond's ribs roughly. His mood was terrible, he was nervous for his second task, and on top of that,he couldn't find his _best_ friend anywhere.

"Well, sorry for caring then," Malfoy replied, pouting immaturely as he crossed his hands in front of his chest. "I mean, it's nice that Regulus happened to remember his _fourth_ year Herbology lesson. But couldn't you have asked someone who is _not_ Longbottom? For all we know, he could have picked you some nightshade berries instead."

"Neville happens to be the best in our year when it comes to Herbology, Draco," Hermione replied. "He's even better than the both of us."

"All right, all right. I'll shut up now," the Slytherin said, waving his hands in mock-defeat.

"Thank you," Harry said. He looked over his shoulder back into the Gryffindor common, as if by checking for the umpteenth time, Ron would finally appear. When the ginger in question didn't show up, he sighed heavily and said, "Come on, then. Let's just go. We don't have much time."

"He's probably already there with Ginny and the twins," Hermione offered an explanation kindly. "Maybe he went with his siblings after breakfast. You know how hungry he can be in the morning."

"I suppose," Harry muttered halfheartedly, still feeling a bit glum over Ron's absence.

It was the day of Second Task. After Cedric Diggory had told him to try putting the egg underwater, it didn't take him long to figure out that the Second Task was talking about the Black Lake. He came to the conclusion that he'd have to retrieve something from under the Black Lake, and he would be given an hour to do so. He never tried asking for help from his Godparents, thinking that they'd disapprove of the idea of cheating. But it was actually Sirius himself who’d asked him whether there was anything that he could help Harry with. When Harry told him about the Second Task, the Head Auror immediately asked all of the adults in the Manor for their help. Remus, Marlene and Dorcas suggested the Bubble Head Charm. But after a few tries in the Manor's pool, Harry learned the hard way that he had zero focus to keep the Charm going after fifteen minutes. Harry had even tried asking Irina, who told him that he could try using diving equipment, before bursting into giggles when she realised how hilarious it would be. It was actually Regulus who told him to use Gillyweed, remembering it from his fourth year Herbology lesson. Knowing that Neville was the best when it came to Herbology, he contacted the timid boy, asking whether he knew where Harry could get some Gillyweed.

Neville's response came immediately, just a day after Harry had sent him a letter. He said that he knew Professor Sprout kept some in her office. Neville promised that he'd try to ask the professor for some once they came back to school. Unfortunately though, the professor had run out of her private stock of Gillyweed. It was a week before the Task at that point, and Harry was freaking out.

He had just resigned himself to the fact that he'd have to try the Bubble Head Charm instead, when Neville came bursting into the boy's dormitory the night before the Task, a little pale and out of breath, but grinning joyously. It turned out that when he was taking his extra lesson from Professor Moody, he overheard Sirius' boss talking to a visiting McGonagall about whether Harry would ever find out about Gillyweed to help him. The man then laughed aloud, saying that if Harry even knew about Gillyweed, the only way for him to get some would be to steal some from Snape's storage. Long story short, once Neville was done with his class, he quickly went to the dungeon to steal the Gillyweed.

Harry would always be grateful for the other boy's help.

"What do you suppose it is that they take from Harry?" he heard Hermione ask Malfoy when he was getting ready. Harry was standing beside Cedric, ready to jump into the water after swallowing the Gillyweed dryly.

"I don't know," came Malfoy's reply. "Must be something that's really important to him."

"His Firebolt, maybe? It is _very_ important to him. He practically sleeps with it."

"I do not sleep with my Firebolt!" Harry yelled, glaring at Hermione and Malfoy, who laughed at him.

"Potter, focus!" Moody barked, literally spinning Harry's head around with a quick flick of his hand so that he was facing the Black Lake again.

The canon blew, signalling the start of the challenge. Harry quickly jumped into the water, feeling himself changing already, thanks to the Gillyweed. He remembered Marlene telling him that he should go east, because that was where the merpeople’s lair was. Using Point Me, Harry immediately went in that direction, his newly transformed physique helping him to swim faster than what was human. He made sure that he took the safest route, away from the Giant Squid or Grindylows, the route that Sirius had reminded him of countless times. As he neared the lair about fifteen minutes later, he briefly wondered how in the world his Godfather knew where the lair was. He was about to enter the the territory of the merpeople when he saw a red flare shooting up into the open air. His insides clenched at the thought that someone could have been seriously injured. Steeling himself, he proceeded to swim forward. He thought his horrible eyesight was playing games with him when he that saw four familiar figures were hovering just fifty metres away from him, tied down by their ankles. But after blinking his eyes a couple of times, he realised that he wasn't wrong.

The first one that he saw was Ron, his red hair looked like a beacon. Beside him was Luna Lovegood, then it was Cho Chang, and lastly it was a little Beaubaxton girl who could only be Fleur's little sister, Gabrielle. For a moment, seeing Ron's unmoving and pale face, Harry thought his friend was _dead._ But then he snapped out of it, thinking that there was no way Dumbledore would let his students be harmed for real. Taking out his wand, Harry cut the ropes loose so he could help Ron. He turned to his right, wand at the ready to cut Luna's ropes. That was when a merperson came to him, warning him that he could only save one. He was about to argue with the merperson when a spell narrowly missed his nose, cutting loose Luna's ropes. Turning around, he saw that it was Cedric with the Bubble Head Charm. At the same time, he saw a half-shark and half-human creature coming their way, snatching Luna's hand before Cedric could. It took Harry a while to realise that it was Krum. If it weren't for the fact that he was in the middle of a competition, Harry would probably laugh at the way Cedric glared venomously at Krum's retreating figure. With a scowl on his face, Cedric cut Cho's ropes before he quickly swam after the Quiddicth star, seemingly determined to beat the Bulgarian.

Harry looked around for the last time, expecting Fleur to show up. But there was no sign of the French girl anywhere. Checking his watch, he began to panic when he saw that the one hour limit was almost up. He feared that once it the hour was up, the spell that put Ron and Gabrielle asleep would break, and they'd wake up under the water. Harry decided that he couldn't leave Gabrielle behind, so he quickly shot a warning spell toward the merpeople so that he could free Gabrielle without their interference. Grabbing both Ron and Gabrielle's hands, he began to make his way up to the surface. Harry realised that the effects of the Gillyweed were waning when it began to feel hard for him to swim. He knew it would be impossible for him to try and swim all the way back. The first thing that came to his mind was to tie Ron and Gabrielle together with the ropes that still clung to their ankles, so it'd be easier for him to hold on to them. He then prayed that the rope was strong enough to hold the weight of two people, before using the Ascending Charm to get out of water. The three of them ended up shooting up onto the platform where he'd jumped down in the beginning of the challenge, landing roughly in front of a worried Hermione.

" _HARRY, YOU'RE HERE!"_ Hermione screamed, hugging him tightly. "Draco! Draco, go get him a towel. For Ron and Gabrielle too. And tell Dumbledore that Harry's here!"

"I can see that already, Miss Granger," Albus Dumbledore said, standing behind Hermione with some thick towels, looking amused.

"Professor," the bookworm muttered, her face flushing red. Dumbledore smiled and passed the towels to Hermione.

"I believe you're more than capable of tending to Mr Potter and Mr Weasley, and Miss Delacour as well. And Mr Malfoy here can help you, of course," the Headmaster said, winking mischievously before leaving to talk to the merpeople.

Harry soon found himself wrapped in the thick towel Dumbledore had given to Hermione. Beside him, Malfoy was teasing Ron as he helped a trembling Gabrielle with her towel, after the Slytherin had made sure the ginger was properly bundled up in the towel. When Fleur came bounding toward them, tears falling profusely down her pretty face, she practically smothered her little sister with a bone-crushing hug, talking fast in French as she rubbed her hands up and down Gabrielle's smaller figure to warm her up. Harry's limited French was enough to help him understand that Fleur was attacked by a flock of Grindylows, and was forced to quit early because her Bubble Head Charm broke. He was still trembling from head-to-toe, and was utterly taken aback when Fleur suddenly turned her attention to him, raining kisses all over his face as she told him countless times how thankful she was that he'd helped Gabrielle.

"Uh, o-okay," Harry stammered. "It's nothing, really. _Ce n'est pas grave._ "

"I'm forever in your debt," Fleur said, her accent thick. "Once again, _merci. Merci beaucoup."_

Harry nodded robotically, watching silently as the two sisters left to join the rest of the Beauxbatons. He had no idea how long he was staring at Fleur, and he'd only just snapped out of it when he felt Hermione slap the back of his head. Glaring at his best friend, he said, "What was that for?"

Hermione shrugged casually. "Just doing you a favour."

Harry rolled his eyes at his best friend, who stuck her tongue out immaturely. Then Malfoy, who was acting maturely for once, went on to inform him of who had finished the task first. Harry was quite surprised to find that Cedric had finished first, despite Krum being the one to swim toward the surface before Cedric did. The young Gryffindor marvelled at just how fast the Head Boy must have gone. Krum turned up just mere seconds after Cedric. According to Malfoy, the two young men were seen trading insults venomously to each other once they were both out of the water. Cedric had the advantage of height, but what Krum lacked in height he made up with his broad shoulders. It took Moody's glowering presence for them to back off in the end, even though they still threw daggers at each other from afar. If Harry wasn't so disheartened by the fact that he’d finished third, he'd probably be more amused by the story.

There was a few minutes of waiting as Dumbledore translated for the other judges what the head of the merpeople tribe had recounted. Ron and Malfoy were teasing him about his 'stupid hero complex', earning quite an earful of reprimanding from Hermione. Harry barely listened though. He knew both boys were right. It had been a matter of discussion between his Godparents about his hero complex, something that he inherited from his father, according to them. He was too busy sulking over his loss that it took Ron and Hermione hugging him, and Malfoy slapping his back roughly in a congratulatory manner, for him to realise the announcement Dumbledore had just made. It turned out that because he'd have finished first if it weren't for the fact that he tried to save everyone, the judges granted him second place instead of third, tying with Krum. Everyone cheered loudly upon the decision, even Cedric, Fleur _and_ Krum. In an instant, his mood brightened and he began laughing. After all, his _stupid_ hero complex had turned out to be a good thing.

* * *

He couldn't believe what he was seeing.

He just _couldn't._

It couldn't be true. It was simply preposterous—

"Brother, do shut your mouth. It's _very_ unbecoming for the Head of the Sacred Twenty-Eight to gape like an imbecile. I get that your wife is pretty, although mine is definitely prettier, but I'm going to disown you if you keep the goldfish look for another second. Besides, Irina will think twice about going on the date with you when she sees your stupid face."

Normally, Regulus would punch his brother for being an annoying arse. But as he _finally_ closed his mouth, the younger Black decided that he couldn’t care less about Sirius. At that moment, his wife – his love, his life, the reason he breathed – his Irina, was the centre of his focus. Like it had _always_ been. From the moment he had laid eyes on her all those years ago, Regulus had always been convinced that she was an angel. It was the only explanation for someone so beautiful, so kind, so _perfect-_ she could only be an angel. As she exited the main bedroom that was Sirius' and Marlene's marital room, after spending the past two hours in there being dolled up by Marlene and Dorcas, Regulus was once again convinced of his belief that his wife was a celestial being. Her brown hair was styled in what he heard Marlene call a 'chignon’ hairstyle – not that he cared what it meant. All he knew was the style made his hands itch to run through her hair to unravel it as he did all kinds of pleasurable things to her. She was wearing an exquisite blue dress that not only matched her eyes, but also cost a fortune. It was a good thing that the Black vault in Gringotts, which was the biggest vault the bank could offer, was filled full to the brim with gold. Even if Sirius one day decided to buy a small country, it wouldn't put in a dent.

"Where are you taking her, Reg?" Remus inquired. The werewolf and the Black brothers were watching their wives giggling like teenagers as they asked Harry to take what probably were a thousand pictures of Irina posing in the dress. The boy was kind enough to indulge them all, despite the ever growing exasperated look on his face. Regulus made a mental note to buy Harry something as a thank-you gift.

" _Le Gavroche_ ," Regulus replied. "You know Irina's a Muggle. Back when we were still living as Muggles, we went past it once and I saw how she looked at the place. But I didn't have the money back then. I mean, my art barely supported us. Especially when Astrid was born, and expenses got bigger, so…"

The Head of the Sacreds bowed his head as he trailed off, feeling embarrassed. He jerked a little bit when he felt his brother's hand on his shoulder. Looking up, he found Sirius giving him a smile. "You don't have to be ashamed about it. You did the best you could. And honestly? I am _so_ proud of you, Reg. You were every bit the perfect Pureblood son. Yet you threw all of that away so you could be with her, the woman whose heritage you should have despised. Even I wouldn't have been able to do that. I wouldn't _dare_ to do that."

Regulus blinked a couple of times as he hugged his brother, hoping that Sirius wouldn't notice the tears. "Thank you, Sirius. Thank you very much."

"Whatever for?" Sirius asked in return, sounding a little taken aback even as hugged Regulus.

"For forgiving me. For giving me a fresh start. For believing in me. For being my brother – the _best_ brother in the whole universe. For everything."

When Sirius barked out his trademark laugh, it sounded like he was holding back his own tears. "Aw, you sentimental fool. You shouldn't think much about it. You _are_ my brother. I'd move heaven and hell for you. It's us against the world, remember?"

"Us against the world," Regulus echoed as he nodded his head, feeling like he was a little boy again.

"Quit it with the long face, kid. You're taking your wife on a long overdue date to London's most expensive restaurant, for Merlin's sake!" Sirius said, giving him a wink that made Regulus laugh. "Go waste Orion's money for me."

"Okay, okay," Regulus chuckled. Making his way to his wife, he gave her the standard gentleman's bow, took her hand and gave it a gentle kiss. "I saw it in one of those movies you like and I always wanted to do it."

Irina laughed, and Regulus knew she was remembering all the times she’d had to explain to a dumbstruck Regulus about the concept of movies. Tilting her head to the side with a mischievous smile, she said, "Care to escort a lady to dinner?"

Regulus winked and offered her his hand. "Certainly."

They took one of Sirius' expensive cars to the restaurant. Regulus actually preferred to just Apparate there, but as a Muggle, Irina always found Apparition to be uncomfortable. Besides, it would be suspicious for them if they suddenly just appeared out of nowhere. The younger Black was grateful that back when he was still living as a Muggle, he took up driving lessons, although he didn't own a car. He even took the driving license test and passed it. His license had expired since he had gone back to live in the Wizarding World, but with a simple Glamour Charm, he had it taken care of. For someone who rarely ventured into the Muggle world, Sirius owned quite _a lot_ of cars. However, even though the man knew how to take care of his cars, the older Black didn't know much about the trend evolution of cars and the brands. The guy merely bought ones that were claimed to be the best and the most expensive cars at the time of their purchase. That was why Sirius' indifferent shrug when Regulus gaped over the newly purchased Aston Martin DB7 was more scandalous to the younger Black than the fact that his brother owned one of the most expensive cars in the world. Regulus felt like kissing his brother's feet when Sirius offered him the car to take out.

When they arrived at the restaurant, almost everyone stared at the car they were riding. Regulus couldn't help the smirk that made an appearance on his face as he entered the restaurant with Irina. Not because he was proud of his brother's expensive car, but because he knew everyone was stunned by his beautiful wife. The former nurse looked absolutely astonishing as she admired everything about the restaurant, the glint of excitement in her blue eyes making Regulus smile. He caught the look on his wife's face when they looked at the menu, knowing exactly what she was thinking. Even though he'd been living with his brother for three years, it still took him sometime to adjust his eyes when he saw ridiculously expensive things. The prices were still high after he changed the currency into Galleons. But he shrugged the thought aside as he remembered that he was now Head of the Sacreds, second-born to one of the richest Pureblood families in all of Europe. Once he’d ordered his and Irina's food, as well as their expensive wine, Regulus reached out to hold Irina's hand, smiling fondly as the woman squeezed his hand gently.

"This is wonderful," Irina said. "Thank you very much, love."

"Anything for you," Regulus replied.

"So, what's the occasion? I mean, don't take this the wrong way, but why did you suddenly decide to take me here now?"

It took Regulus a while to answer. "Seeing my brother and his wife coming back from their honeymoon last week made me realise that I'd never taken you anywhere after our wedding. I'd have preferred us to go on a honeymoon too, but with the war coming and all…"

"This is more than enough," the brunette said quietly when Regulus trailed off. " _You_ are more than enough, Regulus."

"I love you," Regulus said, giving her a peck on the cheek.

The woman smiled, even as she had a slight blush on her face. "Come on, let's talk about something in a much happier tone… Tell me about your childhood. In all the years I’ve known you, and now your brother and his family, I only know so much about your past. I want you to tell me everything, Reg. I want to know what kind of shenanigans you and your brother got into."

Her request made him laugh. "Well, not much, really. When you have parents like mine, there's not much you can do. Up until the year I went to Hogwarts and got into Slytherin, Sirius was pretty much my only friend. He was the one who taught me how to fly, you know? He got into the Quidditch team as a Beater in his second year, with Neville's father, Frank Longbottom. Our mother wouldn't allow it but we always snuck out in the middle of the night to fly. It was amazing."

"And you were a Seeker? Like Harry and Draco?"

"True. But Harry's so much better than me. That kid is a natural. If he doesn’t grow up to be a professional Quidditch player, I'd be shocked… And Draco's actually a Chaser. A really good one, if you ask me. I've seen him as a Chaser. The fact that he's left-handed is the reason why he's a brilliant Chaser. Maybe next year he can try out as Chaser, what with the previous one being expelled. Sad that there's no Quidditch this year."

"Oh right. Because of the, uh…the Triwizard Tournament, isn't it?"

"Yeah. I have high hopes that Harry could win. With us helping him, and his friends too, I have no doubt that the kid will win." Taking a sip of his wine, it was Regulus' turn to ask a question. "What about you? How was your childhood?"

Irina shrugged. "Nowhere near as interesting as yours, that's for sure. You know I'm an only child. And I told you I didn't really have friends growing up. Oh, wait… Actually, I do have one. I went to secondary school with her. Her mother's a very popular actress, the one from that 1939 romance movie that won a lot of Oscars. She herself is an actress too, although nowhere the caliber of her mother. But she's very nice."

"Oh? Why are you no longer friends with her?"

Irina smiled sadly before she answered him. "She moved away and I lost contact with her. The next time I saw her it was on the big screen. But other than her, I didn't have close friends. Nothing like Sirius and Remus have. Although I wish I did."

Regulus nodded his head. "Yeah, everyones wishes they have the kind of friendship like my brother and his friends. Even me."

"It is rare… But do you really have no friends at all? Just acquaintances?"

 _("Once I'm out of this hellhole, I'll join the Dark Lord. I'll show my father just how_ wrong _he is. Just like you'll show your brother how stupid he is for turning his back on you.")_

"Just one," Regulus said in a small voice. For the first time since he’d married Irina, he felt the Dark Mark on his inner left forearm begin to itch.

"Really?" Irina said in surprise, thoroughly oblivious to the fact that Regulus tensely shifted in his seat. "What's their name? Are they…you know, still alive?"

"His name is Barty Crouch Junior. And he's been dead for over a decade."

"Barty Crouch Junior? You mean he's—“

"Yeah, he was Marlene's Deputy's son. He was in my year, in Slytherin too. He was my only friend."

"Oh wow… Why did you never tell me about him?"

At this point, Regulus couldn't help but to clench his jaw. "Barty was the reason I became a Death Eater. You see, his father was a great Minister, but an absolute arse when it came to parenting. To say that Barty Junior hated his father would be the understatement of the century. He absolute despised his father. As a result, he went to look for other father figures to fill the void. Unfortunately, he decided on Voldemort. Pretty much like how I looked up to the psychotic bastard because I lost my brother. When we were fourteen, we decided that we should be Death Eaters together. It was around the time Sirius left me, so in my… _rage_ of being left behind with my horrible parents, I agreed. We were sixteen when we took the Mark. After some time though, I realised the error of my beliefs. I tried telling Barty about it, but after a year, he'd changed. He was no longer the best friend I’d once known."

"Oh, God," Irina whispered, looking horrified.

"It was around the same time I found out about Voldemort being a half-blood, and that all of his propaganda was a big, hypocritical campaign. I decided that I should get out. Even though I knew the chances of me surviving were small, I was sort of hoping that once I’d succeed in destroying one Horcrux, I'd be able to expose Voldemort, and by doing that, I'd get my friend back. Obviously, things didn’t happen that way."

"No, it did not," Irina agreed in a small voice. "You met _me_ instead."

"I don't regret it though," Regulus said quickly. "I've always known that Barty's a bit messed up in the head, thanks to his father's horrible parenting. So, if I had to choose between your or Barty, I'd always choose you. I know this paints a bad light on me, but I can't help it. You're my world, Irina."

"There you go again with your romantic words, Romeo," Irina laughed, squealing a bit when Regulus stole a kiss from her. " _Regulus!_ We're in a public place."

"I don't a give a damn," the young Black replied, grinning. He was tempted to steal another kiss when the waiter came with their food, and he was forced to sit back in his chair. They waited until the waiter had left before they dug in.

"What was he like?" Irina asked as she took a bite of her Scottish beef.

"Who?" Regulus asked, a little distracted because he was busy cutting his salmon.

"Your friend Barty. What was he like?"

"He was… Well, except for his obsession with Voldemort, he was quite normal. He was very talkative, especially when he was arguing me on anything Potions-related. It was his favourite subject. He was _very_ good at Potions. The only one who was nearly as good as I was, actually. And he liked to smile a lot. If I hadn't known him, I wouldn't have guessed he had it rough at home. His smile was so _carefree_ , you know?"

"A lot of people with domineering parents are like that."

"No wonder… He was very normal, like any other kid. Rarely got angry too, except when he got letters from his father. And, oh, whenever I was surrounded by my fellow Quidditch mates. He didn't like Quidditch, you see. He would always scowl at the way people approached me after a game, especially if there were girls. He found girls especially annoying. Wouldn't talk to me for three days when he was in a mood."

"Huh…” Irina hummed, looking contemplative. “You know, it's almost like he was jealous of the girls or something."

Regulus almost choked on his drink upon hearing his wife's comment.

 _"_ I'm sorry. _I beg you pardon?"_ he coughed out, eyes watering a bit.

Irina shrugged. "You know what I mean, Reg. You _do._ I mean, he acted like a jealous _girlfriend_. You must be either blind or ignorant to not notice that."

The Head of the Sacred fell silent. The truth was, he hadn’t really noticed anything wrong with Barty's dramatics. He was so used to his own brother's theatrics that he didn't think much about anything his best friend did. Not to mention that Barty was a hateful person. He found the most trivial things to be grating on his nerves on a daily basis. Anything that wasn't Voldemort-related or Potions-related was considered to be a total waste to him. But even as Regulus dug deep into his mind, going through old memories that he'd tried so hard to forget, he had to admit that Irina was right. Back when Regulus was still in Hogwarts, although he'd only dated a couple of girls, one of them being Pansy Parkison's older sister, who was the oldest of five and two years Regulus' junior, the younger Black did have quite a few female admirers. It was nowhere near the number of Sirius' admirers, but there were enough to probably send Irina into a jealous rage if she ever found out about them. Regulus remembered that all the times he’d dated those girls, Primrose Parkison as an example, Barty would act coolly the whole time that Regulus was in the relationship. Barty would also throw mean insults at the girls Regulus dated. He'd even prank them to the point of almost hurting the girls. Back then, Regulus had always thought that Barty was extra cranky because of something his father had done.

He’d never considered that it was because the guy had _feelings_ for him.

His own very Pureblooded, extremely antiquated best friend…

"Oh, _Salazar_ ," Regulus groaned, his face in his hands. "I feel really bad about it now. I mean, he used to prank the girls I dated, and some of those pranks did even put the girls into the infirmary. And I did absolutely _nothing._ "

"Wow, you really didn't know," Irina said, looking amused.

"He could have _killed_ them with his pranks, and I merely reprimanded him as if all he did was break a cauldron. Gods, I feel terrible."

"It's not your fault, Reg. You really didn't realise. And hey, nobody's killed, right?"

"Still though—“

"Love, don't worry about it. Like I said before, it's not your fault. Besides, as terrible as it is for me to say this, the man's dead. He can do no more harm."

Regulus looked at Irina, feeling grateful, for the umpteenth time since he’d met her, for her presence in his life. Ignoring the woman's protests, he planted a deep kiss on her mouth before speaking again. "I love you. I love you so much, Irina Black. I can't imagine my life without you."

"Well, I'm right here with you, and I'm not going anywhere unless you want me to."

"Like hell I would."

"That settles it then. You're stuck with me till the end of time, buddy."

"I can totally live with that," Regulus said.

"Yeah, me too." As she continued to eat her dinner, Irina let out a small laugh. "I can only imagine the lengths he'd go to hurt me if he was still alive. I mean, I'm your _wife._ He'd probably kill me."

As Irina laughed again, Regulus forced himself to laugh with her. But he really couldn't.

Because he knew that Barty wouldn't just kill Irina if he were still alive. He'd make Irina's death as _painful_ as anyone could possibly imagine.


	8. The Storm

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Triwizard Tournamen was coming to an end.

Bill Weasley loved his family. No one could ever doubt that.

He loved his parents a great deal, that was for sure. Even with their limited finances, his parents always tried their hardest to give him the best that they could. Then when his brother Charlie was born, and he learned just how amazing it felt to be a brother, Bill extended his love to little Charlie, who always followed him around until he felt like he was almost too old to do so. As the first of his six siblings, Charlie would always be special to Bill. In a way, Charlie was Bill's first best friend just like Bill was Charlie's. But that didn't mean Bill didn't love the rest of his siblings. Percy was the only one in his family who understood his need to be the _best_ in everything, also the only one who had the patience to deal with their father's love towards everything Muggle-related. The twins were the ones who understood his humorous and joking nature, the side that no one but the twins and Charlie ever saw. Ron and Ginny were his baby brother and sister, and because of the age difference between them, he felt like both a brother _and_ a parent to the both of them.

Bill Weasley loved his family. And they all loved him in return.

Every one of his family members had a piece of his heart, just like he had a piece of theirs.

But the moment he laid his eyes on _her,_ he knew someone had claimed another piece.

His whole family was visiting Harry, along with the Black-Lupin family, to give support to the young boy. Bill liked Harry. He always had. He liked how the boy treated Ron, Malfoy, and Neville equally. It showed just how well a person he was raised. That was why, when his father told him that they were invited to join Sirius Black and his family to visit Harry, Bill and Charlie, as the only ones who were at the Burrow, agreed to come. Besides, by visiting Harry, they could also visit the rest of the Weasley kids. The only one who couldn't come was Percy, who was busy dealing with Crouch's absence, since he was his personal assistant. So the four Weasleys plus Tonks went by Floo, arriving in Dumbledore's own fireplace from the Black Manor during lunch. Harry looked pleasantly surprised to see his family, and immediately summoned the Weasley kids as well to meet them all. Bill listened to Ron's story about the Second Task, grinning when he heard his mother reprimanding the twins about another of the letters McGonagall had sent home regarding their behaviour. On the other side of the room, he saw his sister and Harry cheer at the dance that the cousins Payne and Astrid Black were showing them.

Other than his family, there were other families of the other Champions coming to visit. He knew Cedric Diggory’s parents, since they were essentially neighbours. The couple who were in their mid-fifties could only be Viktor Krum's parents, judging from their similar facial structure. The last ones to come were an attractive couple who still had their good looks, despite their age. Bill didn't know the name of the last Champion, but he guessed that they could only be her parents. The elderly couple was around Bill’s own parents’ age, and they looked like they could be relatives of the Malfoys from their fair colouring. They _could_ have been related, since Bill could remember his father telling him that the Malfoys were originally from France. The curse-breaker was about to respond to his brother's story about Harry's hero-complex, one-eye still set on the blond couple, when he felt the wind get knocked out of him at the sight of the blond young lady who approaching them.

The Weasley men were all known to be very tall and rather lanky. Bill happened to be the tallest out of him and his six brothers, although he suspected Ron could very well end up being taller than him. But this girl, whose silvery-blonde hair fell in perfect waves behind her back, the colour so bright it was like her hair was literally emitting light, was almost as tall as Percy, who was the shortest Weasley child. Even from where he was standing, Bill could see that her eyes were dark-blue, like the colour of the sky after the first ray of sun. When she turned to hug her mother, the girl's dark-blue eyes found his own light-blue ones. Bill knew he should feel embarrassed that he was caught staring at her. But he noticed the way she was looking at him, the way her blue eyes went up and down appreciatively as if she was assessing him. It was obvious that unlike his Mum, the girl liked how he had his hair in a ponytail, and the dragon fang Charlie sent him that he had dangling by his ear. The moment those eyes were back, looking right into his, she had a small smile on her face. A part of him realised that the girl was younger than him at least by six years, and he knew he shouldn't have responded to her. But the other part of him, the part that was just as suave as Charlie and as mischievous as the twins, told him to ignore that saint-like part of himself. Before he realised what he'd done, Bill had returned the girl's smile and gave her a wink.

"Bloody hell," Ron half-yelled, snapping Bill's attention back to him. "I can't believe it."

"Believe what?" Bill asked, though he already knew what his brother meant.

"You're _flirting_ with Fleur Delacour!" the younger boy exclaimed, attracting a lot of attention. Fortunately for Bill, the girl and her family had just left, so they didn't hear Ron's tactless proclamation.

His family though? Oh, they heard it _just fine._

"Flirting?" his mother said, taking her attention off of the twins and turning to Bill and Ron. "Who's flirting with who?"

"Bill's flirting with Fleu – _hmph!_ "

"He's talking nonsense," Bill quickly said, giving his mother a sweet smile as he put a hand over Ron's big mouth.

Unfortunately, it didn't take long for the rest of his siblings to put two and two together.

"Aw, big brother William has a crush on _la belle_ Miss Fleur Delacour," George teased, making kissy faces at him. "She's part-Veela, you know. Make sure it's not one-sided, brother."

"I don't think that's going to be a problem, judging from the way she's eyeing him as well," Ginny quipped, watching as Fleur and her family walked away.

"Watch it, Charlie. He's going to steal the thunder from you and Tonks," Fred said, mock-serious.

"I'm more concerned about the age gap actually," Charlie replied, giving Bill an infuriating smirk that made him wanted to punch the git. "I mean, isn't she like, _five_ years younger than you, brother? She’s a baby compared to you."

"Quit it, all of you!" their mother snapped before Bill could decide which one of his siblings he should smack first. "Stop teasing your brother like that."

"Yeah, don't embarrass our big brother," Ron said, surprising everyone. Their mother was obviously taken aback that her youngest son had sided with her. Bill though, he knew better.

"Why, thank you, Ron—“

"Besides, it's more like _seven_ years," Ron said, sticking his tongue out at Bill.

"That's it, I'm going to kill all of you," Bill said. He made a show as if he was going to jump on one of his siblings, which prompted all of them to run away. Charlie took Tonks' hand and fled in the direction of the Quidditch pitch, the twins went up the Grand Staircase, while Ron and Ginny went back inside the Great Hall. Letting out a chuckle, Bill watched as all of his siblings scattered, and for a split second he felt like they were kids again.

"Even my most mature child is immature," Molly Weasley said, letting out a dramatic sigh even as she grinned. It made everyone laugh.

"Thanks a lot, Mum," the Bill replied dryly, but giving his mother a smile to show that he wasn't really offended.

"It's quite all right, Molly," the newly married Marlene Black replied. "At least you don't have an overgrown child as a husband. And a brother-in-law. _And_ a best friend."

" _Hey!"_ Sirius, Regulus and Remus chorused, which earned another round of laughter.

When Harry offered to take the adults on a tour around the castle, for old time's sake, Bill decided that he'd go to the Black Lake and excused himself. Back when he was still at Hogwarts, the Black Lake was one of his favourite places. He liked to lounge under the tree by the Lake as he read the books he borrowed from the library or bought from the secondhand bookshop in Diagon Alley. He was thankful to find that there were no other students there under the tree, seeing that the lunch break was over already. With a smile on his face, Bill settled himself in his favourite spot, feeling very much like he'd gone back in time and was a teenager again. He’d had his first kiss here, under this tree, when he was fourteen. It was with a fifth year Ravenclaw whom he’d had a crush on. The girl's name was Olivia Cates. Bill intentionally failed three of his Potions tests just so he could ask her to tutor him. They'd been studying together for two months when one day, Bill decided to kiss her. But before he'd gathered all his nerves, the older girl suddenly cupped his face in her hands, and planted her lips on his. That marked the beginning of his popularity amongst the female population. He wasn't exactly a playboy like Charlie was, but, without meaning it to sound conceited, there _was_ a long line of girls tailing after him.

" _Excusez-moi, monsieur. Ça ne vous –_ I'm sorry, I mean… D- do you mind if I join you? Us Beauxbatons students don't have anything to do after lunch. Classes end early for us on _les Vendredis_. And I like to sit here to, uh… pass the time."

Bill's head whipped around so fast, he ended up giving himself whiplash. Massaging his neck gently, he tried to stop the blush from coming as he nodded to the pretty blonde. " _Oui. Bien sur."_

When Fleur Delacour beamed at him, it took Bill quite sometime to focus his mind. He wondered silently whether his attraction to the girl was so strong because of her Veela heritage.

" _Est-ce que tu parles Français?_ " Fleur said eagerly.

"Ah, no," Bill said, shaking his head with an apologetic smile. "My French only goes as far as simple greetings."

" _Je vois_ ," the girl said. Shrugging, she continued, speaking in her thick accent. "No matter. My English is quite…decent. And I could use some practise."

"That's good to hear. I'd hate to think we'd be sitting here in silence." When the girl threw her head back as she laughed, Bill knew then that her Veela heritage had nothing to do with the fact that he was staring at her like an idiot.

"I haven't introduced myself, haven't I? _Mon nom est Fleur Delacour._ What about you? _Comment tu t'appelles?"_ She gave out her hand to him, and didn't even wait for Bill to take her hand, grabbing his extended hand and shaking it firmly.

"I'm Bill Weasley."

"Brother to Ron, yes?"

"True. As you've probably noticed already, I have six siblings. Five younger brothers and one younger sister. I'm the oldest."

"I only have Gabrielle, _ma petite sœur._ I love her so much. Even though sometimes she makes me…crazy. But that's what younger siblings do, _je suppose._ "

"Oh, I totally agree. You only have _one_ sibling. I have _six!_ They're all so infuriating. But I wouldn't trade them for the world."

They spent the next two hours talking about a lot of things other than their respective siblings. She told him that she’d just turned eighteen the previous month, and was planning to find a job in England. Bill liked how the girl was so much more than just a pretty face. Obviously she could only be one of Beauxbatons most brilliant students, seeing as she was its representative for the Tournament. They talked about their favourite school subjects, and he was quite surprised to find that her favourite subject was Charms, just like him. The whole time that they talked, Bill didn't realise that there was a seven-year gap between the two of them. He liked talking to her, her maturity caught him off guard, and yet she was still so naïve about the world. It was refreshing for him to hear her talk. He didn't even realise how much the time was flying, not until she told him that she had to go and see her Headmistress to talk about the Third Task. Albeit feeling a little disappointed that their chat had to end so soon, Bill nodded his head understandingly.

"Good luck for your last Task, okay?" Bill said before she left.

" _Bien sur._ _Merçi beaucoup,_ " Fleur said in return, a smile lighting up her face. She'd only walked a few paces away when she turned around and called out his name. "Uh… Bill?"

"Yes, Fleur?" the curse-breaker replied, feeling himself smiling as well.

"I like talking to you. _A lot._ "

"Well, um, me too, Fleur."

"Great. I'll give Harry my address. _Au revoir,_ Bill Weasley."

As Bill bade the girl farewell, he couldn't help the frown that began to form on his face. Why would Fleur give Harry his address if she liked talking to—

"William, you are an _idiot,_ " Bill muttered to himself before making a mad dash back into the castle, all the while hoping he could catch Harry before he was done showing his family around.

He needed to make sure Harry remembered to give him the address once Fleur gave it to him.

* * *

_("Please tell me you've forgiven me.")_

_("No, I haven't. I'm just going to give you this.")_

_("What is—")_

_("This medallion will protect you from any harm that's caused by magic. Even the Killing Curse.")_

This was it. The Final Task. Cedric was one step closer to _eternal glory._ As he stood beside Harry, everything felt like a blur to him. He barely noticed his father standing on his other side, and he couldn't even fathom what the man was saying. On his right he saw Harry with Regulus Black, who had come in place of his brother and Remus Lupin, to offer Harry support. Unlike the other two Headmasters, Dumbledore opted not to walk alongside his Champions, to avoid suspicion of favouritism. Instead, he'd asked the father, and in Harry's case Godfather, of the Hogwarts Champions to do so instead. Like everyone else who saw Regulus instead of Harry's Godfathers, Cedric wondered where the two Aurors were. He would have asked the Gryffindor about it, if it weren't for the fact that something else was on his mind. When the canon blew, signalling the start of the Final Task, Cedric bade his father farewell and made his way into the Maze. Before the entrance closed behind him, his eyes caught the sight of a familiar blonde sitting tensely between Ginny Weasley and Astoria Greengrass.

Cedric immediately focused his mind though, knowing that the slightest miss would cost him greatly. He used Point Me to show him the way, thinking that the Cup could only be right in the middle of the Maze. The first obstacle he ran into was an Acromantula. He barely had enough time to duck when the Acromantula shot its web at him. Rolling to the side, he almost got stabbed by another Acromantula’s pointy legs. He thought it was pure luck that he was quick enough to pull out his wand, and yelled " _Arania Exumai!"_ at the two creatures. The ground shuddered under his feet as the Acromantula dropped to the ground. Careful not to wake them up, he hastily continued on his way. For the next fifteen minutes, according to his watch, Cedric's path was empty. But he didn't let his guard down though, especially when he saw a flare shoot up into the sky from the direction in which he was heading. He estimated he was only fifty metres away from the next obstacle, and was proved right when suddenly, a strong wind began to blow until it formed mini-tornados.

The Head Boy only had a split second to decide which path he should take, lest he be sucked into the vortex that was coming after him. Running as fast as he could, he wasn't really watching where he was going. He vaguely heard voices, but shrugged it aside, thinking that it was just the tornado behind him. It felt like hours until he was finally free of the tornado after he took a turn to the right. He was breathing hard, as if something was clogging up his windpipe, as he looked at the destruction the tornado had left in its wake. Cedric took a few minutes to calm down his breathing before he waved his wand to determine where he was. Lifting himself onto his feet, he ignored the way his legs were screaming in exhaustion. He began to walk again, albeit a lot slower than before. He was a lot more wary now though, knowing that anything could come out from literally anywhere. His adrenaline was still running high, and his ears were ringing as a result. It was about ten minutes later when he felt a shift in the air. It felt dark, _sinister,_ almost as if someone had just cast the Dark Mark. The sudden change caught him off guard, he didn't realise that there was someone behind him.

" _Crucio!"_

The Cruciatus Curse hit him right on his back, and Cedric expected the unbearable pain he'd heard many times in the past. But he felt nothing. Turning around, he found Krum standing in front of him, his wand aimed at him. There was something off about the Quidditch star though. His eyes looked unfocused, and he moved almost robotically. It didn't take him long to realise that the Bulgarian was under the influence of the Imperius Curse. When Krum sent another curse at him and it didn't affect Cedric at all, the Head Boy realised that he was protected because of Luna's medallion that was hidden under his shirt. All of a sudden, he felt the weight of the trinket hanging around his neck, and the cool surface of the onyx stone felt oddly soothing against his chest. In the back of his mind, Cedric wondered whether the blonde had seen in one of her visions about him being attacked by Krum. But the thought instantly flew out of his mind when Krum sent an unfamiliar purple hex at him, and even though he knew he would be saved, Cedric still flinched when the Curse hit him. It seemed that Krum was now finally realising that magic couldn't hurt Cedric. Therefore, he pocketed his wand and began to make a beeline towards Cedric. Knowing that Krum could very well kill him, the Hufflepuff took off as fast as he could, despite his protesting legs.

"Krum! Hey, Krum!" Cedric yelled as he kept on running. "Snap out of it! I know you can hear me, you cocky bastard!"

"He's not here, Diggory," Krum replied coolly, and his voice sounded heavier than usual. "He's safely locked in his own mind until I let him go. For now, it's just you and me, and I'm going to _hurt_ you."

"Whoever you are, you're obviously doing a terrible job, mate," Cedric laughed mirthlessly. "I'm _still_ standing, aren't I? You're a _joke_ , ma – "

"Cedric?" a voice yelled. "Is that you?"

It was obvious that Cedric wasn't the only one who recognised the voice.

" _Potter,"_ Krum grumbled.

They'd taken another turn and there it was; the Triwizard Cup in all its glory, glowing in an ethereal blue light. However, standing right in front of him, his wand at the ready, was Harry. The younger boy didn't look scared at all, as his eyes narrowed at both Cedric and Krum, who were coming in closer to the younger boy. The Gryffindor looked like he was making a quick decision in his head when his hand suddenly jerked and the Stunning spell shot out of his wand. Cedric only had a split second before he ducked, ending up rolling on the ground because of the sudden halt. Looking back over his shoulder, he let out a sigh when he saw Krum unconscious on the ground. He felt Harry kneel beside him, putting out his hand to Cedric to pull him up.

"You… You could have just let him…attack me," Cedric panted, once again out of breath. "Thank you for helping me."

"Don't mention it," Harry replied, giving a small smile. "Besides, I've been told many times that I have a hero complex."

Cedric laughed. But he immediately sobered up as he looked at the Cup. "And here we are. Hogwarts' Champions, just a foot away from the Cup."

"Here we are," Harry echoed, eyeing the Cup as well.

There was almost a minute of silence before Cedric spoke, surprising even himself with his own words when he said, "You should take the Cup, Harry. After all, you got here first."

The Gryffindor shook his head, his eyes wide. " _What?_ No, no, no. _You_ are the true Champion. You should be the one who wins."

"But you got here first. It's only fair if you win."

"Fine. What about we win this stupid Tournament _together_? It'll still be a Hogwarts victory."

"I like that," Cedric replied, smiling. "Okay then. On three. One…"

"Two…"

_"Diggory!"_

"Three!"

Cedric saw a flash of silver coming in his way, flying out from Krum's hand, who was _awake_ already. Thinking that it was another spell, he didn't even think of dodging out of the way. He merely stood there, his right hand reached out to touch the Cup. Suddenly, he felt a shot of pain on his right side. At the same time, the moment his hand touched the cup, he felt the familiar sensation of travelling with a Portkey. The last thing he saw before the Cup took him away was Krum _finally_ coming back into his own body, his dark eyes wide in terror as he watched both Cedric and Harry disappear. When he finally landed, he was lucky enough that his feet landed firmly on the ground, which was a great feat considering his whole body was screaming in pain, especially his right side. Cedric made a quick check of his surroundings, noting that they were in a graveyard and that Harry seemed to be fine except a bit shaken, before he looked down and checked himself.

There was a knife sticking out from under his ribs.

And he was _bleeding._ Cedric was bleeding profusely. It seemed that whoever it was that had Imperiused Krum had decided to use a knife on Cedric to hurt him. Even though it was dark, Cedric knew that his shirt was already soaked with his own blood. He had no idea how much longer his legs could hold him up. He considered telling Harry, but he knew the boy had a lot on his mind already, judging from the way he was looking around in alarm. They weren't supposed to be transported out of the Maze. He didn't even know that the Cup was a Portkey. Even if it was, he reckoned it was to transport them back to the Quidditch pitch, where everyone else would be waiting for them. But Cedric knew that there was no use in 'what ifs’. Things happened, and he just had to deal with them. He realised he should probably help Harry find a way back to Hogwarts. Perhaps they could Apparate. Cedric had passed his Apparition test already. But when he found himself falling to his knees, he knew he was much too weak to do such advanced magic. Maybe a little rest wouldn't be too bad. He just needed some shut-eye and then he—

"Cedric, wake up," Harry said, shaking him urgently. The boy then stopped, and when Cedric opened his eyes weakly, he noticed that the Gryffindor was eyeing Cedric's hand that was holding his wounded side. "Gods, you're _bleeding._ "

 _Yeah, no shit, Sherlock,_ the Hufflepuff remarked dryly in his mind, remembering the Muggle book his mother had bought him for his fifteenth birthday.

"I'm fine," Cedric panted as he pulled the knife out, letting out a string of curses when the pain nearly made him faint. He took a few deep breaths and once he felt strong enough, he tried to stand up. He was thankful when Harry quickly helped him up, because the truth was, Cedric felt like fainting already.

"Come on, we have to get out of here. I have a bad feeling about this. Hold on to me, okay? I'll Apparate us out."

Harry frowned. "You sure you can do it? I mean, you're _drenched_ in blood, mate."

"Yeah, it's all right. Really. Let's just go now."

Harry looked unconvinced, but he probably realised that they both really needed to leave. Holding tightly onto Cedric, the younger boy took a deep breath to ready himself. Cedric was picturing his destination when suddenly, Harry dropped on his knees and began to scream, holding his head in pain. The sudden movement caused Cedric to fall as well, unfortunately landing on his bad side. He gasped as the wind was knocked out of him for a second time that day, and for a moment, everything went dark as his body erupted in pain. He quickly pushed it away though, because beside him, Harry was still screaming. Letting out a shuddering breath, the Hufflepuff began to drag himself towards Harry, the two inches between them feeling like two miles. That was when he saw a figure coming from the other side of the graveyard. The closer the person got, the louder Harry screamed. But Cedric could tell who it was.

Peter Pettigrew.

"What are you doing to Harry?" Cedric bravely rasped out as he struggled to get to his feet, wand clutched tightly in his slippery, bloody hands. He couldn't afford to drop it by accident.

"Go away, boy," Pettigrew said. As he got closer, Cedric saw that the psycho was holding a bundle in his hand. "We only need the little brat. It's been some time since wee little Harry last talked to his Uncle Wormtail."

"Y- you bastard," Harry spat out through his pain. "You betrayed my parents."

"Oh, cry me a river, kid," Pettigrew said as he stepped forward.

"Stand back!" Cedric said, his wand trained on Pettigrew, not backing down.

The insane creep let out a manic chuckle. "You think you can defeat me, boy? The first person who ever got out of Azkaban? Don't be delusional, Diggory. You're hurt. Save yourself. _Go_."

"Over my dead body."

Pettigrew shrugged. "Oh well. That can be arranged."

The short wizard took a side glance at the bundle in his arms. Cedric felt a chill run up his spine when heard a voice hiss from under all of those blankets. It was the most malicious sound he’d ever heard. Even from the voice alone he could tell that whatever was in the bundle was evil.

"Kill the spare," the bundle hissed out. Pettigrew smirked.

"Certainly, My Lord."

“Cedric, go—“

_"Avada Kedavra!"_

Green light filled his vision as he felt a strong force throw him a few metres back. He landed roughly on his back, and the force caused him to cough up blood. He had no idea how long he was blacked out. He only knew he’d fallen unconscious because for the longest time, he saw only darkness. But he knew he was still alive because every breath he took was like another stab in his lungs, and his ears wouldn’t stop ringing. Using the little energy he had left, he rolled around onto his knees. There was no voice that came out of his mouth as he heaved, clutching his bleeding side. From the corner of his eye, Cedric saw that one of the statues had come to life and was holding Harry captive, who was still screaming. Pettigrew was dropping the bundle into a huge cauldron in front of Harry, seemingly oblivious to the fact that Cedric had not died yet. There was a mini-explosion coming from the cauldron as the bundle within it slowly transformed. He watched with wide eyes as the thing within the cauldron began to form a head, a body, and two set of limbs. Even before the transformation was complete, Cedric knew who it was already.

"Wormtail," a hiss came from the figure, sounding snake-like. "Why is the spare still alive?"

And as Cedric looked into Lord Voldemort's red eyes, he felt like he was looking into the eyes of the Devil himself.


	9. The Aftermath

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Harry met Voldemort for the first time. And Barty met an old friend.

Harry's head was killing him. The pain he felt was unbearable. It felt like someone was tearing his forehead open with a blade. It took all of his might to focus on anything but the pain because at that moment, he had just witnessed the rebirth of Lord Voldemort— _the man who had murdered his parents._ The man who stood before him looked nothing like the Tom Riddle from the diary. This man's face looked snake-like, and those piercing blue-eyes that he used to have were now red. Harry thought that Voldemort was going to kill him right then and there when the transformation was complete. But the wizard's attention was all set on Cedric, who was struggling to get to his feet. The Hufflepuff's complexion had paled drastically in the two minutes since he’d confronted Pettigrew, and Harry worried about the rate that blood was now pouring from his stab wound. But, in the back of his mind, he couldn't help but to wonder _how_ in the world Cedric had survived the Killing Curse.

And it seemed that Harry wasn't the only one who was wondering about it.

"Wormtail, why is the spare still alive?" Voldemort hissed.

"My Lord—"

"Well, sorry to rain on your parade, mate, but you've got one _lousy_ lackey," Cedric spat, blood rolling down his chin as he let out a mirthless chuckle.

Voldemort hummed as he approached Cedric, his robes billowing behind him. When he kicked Cedric onto his back, Harry flinched at the sound of his foot making contact with Cedric's nose. "It looks like while you can’t be killed, you _can_ get hurt. You _are_ hurt. You're bleeding to death as we speak."

"Aren't you just observ—"

Harry clenched his jaw at the sound Cedric let out when Voldemort stepped on his wound. Wandlessly Summoning the knife Cedric had plucked out of his body, Voldemort then bowed down until his face was level with Cedric's writhing one. "Such a handsome boy… I used to look like you, you know? And even without my powers, people _worshipped_ me just for the fact that I looked like all the charming princes in their stupid fairy tales. I bet you have a lot of girls tailing after you, don't you? I wonder whether they'll still like you if I do _this._ "

Voldemort flicked his hand, and Harry thought he'd stabbed Cedric when the Head Boy let out another blood-curdling scream. Before he knew what he was doing, Harry yelled, "Don't touch him!"

" _Harry!"_ Voldemort said in faux-happiness. He turned around, leaving Cedric's body as if he was no more than pebbles under his feet. "I'd almost forgotten about you standing there on the bones of my father. You are the guest of honour after all."

"What have you done to him?" Harry gritted out; the pain in his head was getting worse as Voldemort came closer.

"I only gave him a little scratch, that's all. I haven't killed him, if that's what you're asking, which you most certainly are. But Harry, I'd love to chat with you some more, especially now that I can touch you. However, I have to… _call_ my old friends to join us. So you just wait right here."

As Voldemort turned to talk to Wormtail, giving the traitorous rat a new hand, Harry tried hard to free himself from the statue's hold. True to his words, Harry saw that Voldemort hadn't killed Cedric. But he might as well have, by making a long cut on Cedric's face, going diagonally from the right side of his face to his left, fatally injuring Cedric's left eye in the process. The Hufflepuff must have fainted from all the pain, but judging from the way his breathing was beginning to falter, Harry knew that death wasn't far from Cedric. Harry was determined to get to Cedric, and he was so busy trying to free himself, he didn't realise what was happening around him. Out of the blue, the statue moved, and Harry dropped unceremoniously onto the ground. He was about to make a mad dash towards Cedric, when Voldemort hit him with the Cruciatus Curse. In all of his fourteen years of life, Harry had been in pain quite a few times because of the injuries he’d suffered. But _nothing_ compared to the pain he felt when the Curse hit him. It felt like he was being stabbed a million times, and his insides felt like they were burning. He didn't even realise he was screaming until the Curse was lifted from him, and his throat felt sore. Panting, Harry looked up to meet Voldemort's sadistic grin, and only then did he notice that there were people surrounding them. _Death Eaters._ He noticed that there were spaces between the Death Eaters, and he knew one of them should have been Regulus' place or Lucius'.

"Ah, Harry, I'm disappointed in you," Voldemort said. "Haven't your _Godfathers_ taught you some manners? When someone is talking, you listen to them. Especially when they're your superiors."

"My Godfathers taught me that _you_ talk too much… _Tom_ ," Harry said bravely. The way Voldemort recoiled made it look as if he'd been slapped, and Harry thought that the so-called Dark Lord was about to kill him for his comment. Instead, Voldemort merely gave a cool chuckle that sent shivers down his spine.

"I'm going to kill you, Harry Potter," Voldemort said calmly. "I'm going to destroy you, and then I'm going to go after your family. I will kill Sirius Black and that _half-breed_ Remus Lupin, after I make them watch how I torture their wives and children. And you'll die with the knowledge that you can do _nothing,_ absolutely nothing, to stop me."

The thought of his family dead set a fire in the pit of his stomach. It was rage, and hatred, and it was powerful enough to give him the strength to stand back on his feet and calmly stare Voldemort in the face. Gripping his wand tightly in his hand, he said, "You'll have to kill me first, Tom. I challenge you to a duel. Just you and me."

"Huh." If Voldemort was taken aback by Harry's challenge, he hid it really well. "Well, we'll have to do it properly then. First, we bow to each other."

"I will not—"

_"Bow, you insolent little brat!"_

Harry had no choice but to do so when Voldemort sent another Curse his way.

"Now, isn't that good? Your parents would be _so_ proud of you—"

_"Expelliarmus!"_

_"Avada Kedavra!"_

At the mention of his parents, it was the little push Harry needed. He watched in determination as the red of his spell met Voldemort's green. He tried to hold it for as long as he could. It looked like Voldemort was going to win at first. But Harry was determined. This was the man who had killed his parents, who had caused so much pain for his family. He had to defeat Voldemort. Not to save the world, but to give his family the relief they needed. He repeated that in his mind like a mantra, over and over again. Then he watched as the point where the two spells met began to shift towards Voldemort, whose eyes widened in disbelief. When it touched the tip of Voldemort's wand, silvery light exploded, forming a dome around them, isolating Harry and Voldemort from the Death Eaters. Harry watched in fascination as figures began to form around them, like Patronuses. The first one to appear was the old Muggle from his dream. Then there was Bertha Jorkins, who has been reported missing at the start of the school year. Many men, women and children came out from Voldemort's wand. But Harry only had eyes for the two figures who climbed out of the wand much later; a man who looked like an older version of Harry and a woman who had his eyes.

James and Lily Potter— _his parents._

"Mum… Dad…" Harry breathed. The two of them smiled as they went to his side.

"Hello, Fawn," James said, giving him a wink. "You did a great job. You just have to hold on real quick before he comes. But you must leave as quickly as you can because we can only hold Voldy off for so long, okay? Don't forget to get the Cup because it's the only way you can return to Hogwarts."

"Wait, what? _He_?" Harry asked. "W-what do you mean, Dad? Mum?"

Instead of answering, Lily said, "We're _so_ proud of you, Harry. We really are. And I want you to remember that we love you so, _so_ much. Now let go, love. _Let go_."

A part of him, the part that missed his parents greatly and just wanted everything to be over, was tempted to let Voldemort win just so he could be with them. But Harry knew that that was wrong. It wasn't his time yet. He still had so much to do. So he braced himself, and then broke the connection. All of the silvery figures that surrounded him and Voldemort rushed towards the evil wizard, and Harry didn't waste his time. Running as fast as his legs could carry him, he made his way towards Cedric, who already had someone with him. _It was Regulus._ He heard the Head of the Sacreds tell him to move faster, and even though it felt impossible, Harry ran faster. He Summoned the Cup at the same time that his hand found Regulus’. With a jerk, the Cup took them back to Hogwarts, and the three of them landed roughly back on the ground of the Quidditch pitch. It was crazy back in Hogwarts. There was a lot of yelling, and people were moving all over the place. Regulus didn't even falter when he lifted Cedric in a remarkable show of strength and yelled for Dorcas, who came running as fast as she could towards him with Madam Pomfrey and her team of Healers. Harry heard Cedric's father let out a heartbreaking wail at the sight of his son, and Harry knew that the man feared the worst. He briefly heard Dumbledore tell him to stay put as he went to calm everyone else with Sirius and Remus by his side. Harry was okay doing exactly as he was told, when he felt strong hands pull him onto his feet.

"Come on, son. We'll check over that arm of yours," a gruff voice said that he recognised as Moody's.

"But Dumbledore told me to stay here," Harry said, even as he let himself be led into Moody's office. The truth was, the Seeker was in a bit of shock, and his mind couldn't really process what was happening around him.

"You're going to get it infected. Merlin knows what kind of contamination that knife is exposed to from the graveyard… Now, sit here. I'll go get something to stop the bleeding."

But Harry wasn't listening. Moody's words were ringing loudly in his mind, and he played them on repeat like a Muggle tape. Swallowing thickly as he listened to Moody bustling around in his storage, Harry said, "H-how… How did you know I was cut by a knife, sir? How did… how did you know about the graveyard?"

The bustling stop, and there was an eerie silence that followed. Then in a tone that sounded unfamiliar in Moody's voice, "Well, well, well... You're _a lot_ smarter than I ever gave you credit for, Potter. _Well done._ "

"Who are you?" Harry asked, eyeing the fake-Moody from where he was seated. "Where's the real Moody? What have you done to—"

" _Silence!"_ fake-Moody hissed, and Harry flinched as the man's face began to change, obvious signs that the effects of the Polyjuice Potion were wearing off. "Now tell me, _punk;_ how do you know I'm not Moody? Not even Dumbledore knew about it."

"I know the real Moody. He'd never disobey Dumbledore's orders."

"Hm. You _are_ smart. And all this time, I thought you were an idiot like your arrogant, blood-traitor of a Godfather. Which is a wonder, really, since I pretty much helped you to win all your tasks."

"You did not! My family and friends helped me!" Harry yelled.

Fake-Moody rolled his eyes. "Oh, _please._ Like that oaf Hagrid would ever have come up with the idea to spill the beans to you? And Diggory wouldn't have known about dipping the egg into water if I hadn't told him myself. Same goes for you and that sorry excuse of a wizard, Longbottom. I knew he'd listen in on me talking to McGonagall about Gillyweed. And guess how I knew about you looking for Gillyweed? Because I overheard him asking for it from Sprout. So you should thank me for helping you, Potter."

"It was you," Harry breathed as everything began to make sense. "It was all you, wasn't it? You put my name in the Goblet of Fire. You were the one who Imperiused Krum. It was all _your_ doing."

"Aye, it was all my doing," fake-Moody drawled monotonously. "You only won because I made it so. My plan was to get you to the Dark Lord. But Krum ruined everything when he sent that flare, and revealed everything to Dumbledore. And when the Dark Lord Summoned us all, that _traitorous_ Regulus Black realised that you could only be where Voldemort was. So he went to get you, and you returned with a dying Diggory in tow."

"It seems that your elaborate plan didn't work," Harry said, smirking. "Because I'm still here."

"Yeah… But, I'm going to change that. Prepare to join your parents, Potter. _Avada Keda—“_

" _Expelliarmus!"_

The door flew opened as fake-Moody was thrown across the room. Dumbledore came marching in with Sirius, Remus, Regulus, McGonagall _and_ Snape. For the first time since Harry had known his Headmaster, he'd never seen Dumbledore this angry. The old man gave a quick nod to his companion, and Harry watched Snape pour liquid down fake-Moody's throat, who was being held by Sirius and Remus. Regulus and McGonagall immediately went to Harry's side, both of their wands at the ready. Slowly, fake-Moody began to transform into his true form. The facial structure got more angular and younger as the body became slimmer. The grey hair changed to a strawberry-blond colour, and at the same time Moody's fake eyes rolled onto the floor. Harry remembered the man as the one from his dream, the man who was with Wormtail and Voldemort in that old house. He also remembered that this man was the same person who was in Dumbledore’s memory during the trial for the torture of Frank and Alice Longbottom all those years ago. He didn't look much like his recently deceased father, and Harry guessed that he took after his mother. Everyone was silent as they stared at the man, whose eyes were set on only one person in the room.

And it was Regulus.

"Hello, Barty," the Head of the Sacreds said calmly. "Long time no see, eh?"

Barty Crouch Junior glared murderously at Regulus when he replied, "Hello… _old friend._ "

* * *

When Regulus put Cedric onto the stretcher as gently as he could, the first thing he did was to look for Harry. For some reason, he had a feeling that Harry was in grave danger. His suspicion was confirmed when he saw Moody pulling on Harry's hand, dragging the boy back into the castle. Except Regulus knew it _couldn't_ be the legendary Auror. Mad-Eye Moody was famous for a lot of things, and one of them was his loyalty to Dumbledore. Anyone who knew the man knew that if Dumbledore told him to jump off a cliff, he'd do it, no questions asked. There was no doubt that the imposter could only be a Death Eater, and the thought made him shudder. For a whole year, Harry and the rest of Hogwarts’ students had been in close proximity with a Death Eater—and not even _Dumbledore_ knew about it. He was on his way to his brother and Remus, when he wondered which one of Voldemort's men it was that had pretended to be Moody, when he saw the imposter do something _familiar._ However, that gesture wasn't something that Moody would do. Oh no, it was the signature move of someone else. Someone that Regulus knew really well.

_("Why do you do that?")_

_("Do what?")_

_("That. Rubbing your knuckles with your other hand.")_

_("Oh. My father likes to hit them, you see. As a punishment for whenever I fail him. He's broken them so many times already, it's a miracle the hand is still functional. Even though the bones are healed, I can still feel the stinging pain of his cane busting them.")_

"Sirius! Remus!" he yelled, yanking at his brother's hand, who was busy talking to a group of Aurors. "Brother, we have to go now!"

"What are you talking about, Reg?" Sirius asked. "Can't you see that I'm busy?"

"It's Harry." The moment the boy's name was mentioned, both Marauders tensed. "He's been taken by someone who's _not_ Moody. I have a bad feeling about this, Sirius."

"Wait, _what?_ " the older Black yelped. "What do you- how do you know that's not Moody?"

"Because—"

"Because the real Alastor Moody would _never_ go against my orders," Dumbledore said calmly, but Regulus could definitely sense danger in his words. The old man had suddenly appeared with Snape and McGonagall, and his blue eyes shone with a kind of anger that made Regulus shrink in fear.

"Professor," Regulus said, swallowing heavily. "We have to go after Harry and that imposter, sir."

"Do you know who that is, Mr Black?"

"Oh, yes," the Head of the Sacreds muttered. "I know him _very_ well."

There was no doubt who that imposter could be.

"Then what are we waiting for? Let's _go,"_ Sirius said, pushing Regulus out of the way, with Remus hot on his trail.

Sirius had always been the fastest between the two of them, despite the fact that Regulus was the one who was a Seeker. But as he chased after the retreating figure of Harry with the fake-Moody, Regulus noticed that he'd never seen Sirius run that fast. The Auror nearly gave away his secret as an unregistered Animagus when he abruptly changed into a dog, ignorant of the fact that if any of the Ministry officials saw him, he'd be sent to Azkaban. Using his canine senses, the Auror sniffed the ground to catch their trail. Regulus was a little surprised to find that Dumbledore was quick enough to catch up with him, despite his age. They all followed Sirius then, who took them down a familiar path. They were heading to the DADA classroom, and Regulus could only imagine that fake-Moody had taken Harry to his office. Sirius transformed back into his human form when Remus tried to break down the classroom door. Finding no Harry or fake-Moody there, they quickly headed for the teacher's office. True enough, they heard voices from inside the room. The moment the first word of the Killing Curse was uttered, Remus shot out a spell to knock down the door, and at the same Sirius sent a Stunner towards fake-Moody. As everyone went to do their assigned jobs, which were silently agreed by everyone, Regulus stiffly took a spot right next to Harry. When Snape poured the Veritaserum down fake-Moody’s throat, the Head of the Sacreds felt his insides go cold as he looked at his _best friend_ for the first time in years. He'd _done_ it. The creepy bastard had actually done it. He’d gotten out of Azkaban.

And he was staring at Regulus as if he wanted to murder him— which no doubt was true.

"Hello, Barty… Long time no see, eh?"

At this, Barty's glare hardened as he spat, "Hello, old friend."

"Looking good, Bart. Too bad the only date you'll ever get is with your ex, a Dementor named _Death_. But hey, at least you know each other from your time in Azkaban."

"You traitor," Barty snarled. "You _fucking_ traitor. I can live with the fact that you betrayed the Dark Lord. You've always been a bit of a wuss, Reg. But you betrayed _me._ "

"I betrayed- I betrayed you—" Regulus snapped. " _YOU_ BETRAYED _ME_ FIRST, BARTY! WHEN YOU DRAGGED ME ALONG WITH YOU TO TORTURE THE LONGBOTTOMS!"

"YEAH, BUT THEN YOU _LEFT!_ YOU LEFT ME TO ROT ALONE IN AZKABAN!"

"WELL, YOU DESERVED IT, YOU PSYCHOPATH!"

" ** _ENOUGH!_** " Dumbledore thundered, his voice louder than Regulus had ever heard it. Staring down at Barty long and hard, Dumbledore said, "Regulus, if you can't calm yourself, I'm afraid I'll have to ask you to leave."

"Noted," Regulus muttered, once he’d managed to calm down. He settled quietly beside his brother, who gave him a supportive embrace. This caught Barty's attention though.

"Of course," Barty chuckled mirthlessly. "At the end of the day, you'll always seek out your brother's help. _Always_ too much off a sniffling coward to fight your own battles."

"Why, you slithering bas—"

"How did you do it?" Sirius asked quickly, cutting off Regulus' words. "How did you escape Azkaban?"

Barty turned his attention to Sirius and gave the Auror a deranged smile. "Didn't Pettigrew tell you about it, Black? Or were you still so arrogant that you didn't believe a thing he said? I'll admit, the rat _is_ unreliable. But he's pretty dedicated, I'll give him that."

"So, your mother really did take your place instead?" Sirius asked, causing Regulus to whip his head in Sirius' direction. He couldn't believe his brother knew about it and _didn't_ tell him. But then again, if Pettigrew was the messenger, it was understandable for Sirius to doubt the information.

"Yes, she did." Regulus noticed that at the mention of his mother, he’d softened a bit. "But Mother was already sick anyway. Because of _Father,_ " he spat viciously, an animalistic look in his eyes. "I killed the bastard, you know? Transformed him into a bone. Would have preferred to do a lot worse, but Potter was coming to get you and everyone else, so whatever. But he deserved a lot worse. After everything he did to me and my mother."

Then Barty began to recount everything that had happened since the day his mother had took his place as a prisoner of Azkaban. Even after everything, Regulus couldn't help it when his heart went out for him. After all, Barty _was_ his friend. In the back of his mind, Regulus still cared for the insane maniac who had gone out of his way to cheer Regulus up after his first fight with Sirius. The idea that the man had lived the next twelve years of his life under the influence of the Imperius Cursewas too much for him to handle. It was a miracle that Barty's mind was still intact. The Imperius Curse tended to destroy its victim’s mind after longterm exposure. But, looking at his former friend, it did seem that something really had broken in him. When Barty spoke proudly about his loyalty to Voldemort, Regulus felt like shaking the bastard so hard that he'd snap out of the idiocy he’d been brainwashed with. But it was impossible. Barty was too far gone. He would rather die than betray Voldemort.

"Albus, can we please continue this later?" McGonagall said, speaking out for the first. "Harry needs to see Dorcas, for his arm. It's still bleeding."

One glance at Harry, then, "Of course. Sirius, Remus, I believe you have everything you need from Mr Crouch already. I'll go and take Harry to see Dorcas, but I'll be back as soon as I can. I trust the four of you are mature enough to deal with Mr Crouch."

"Yes, Professor," Remus replied. Sirius, Regulus and Snape gave the same affirmative response.

"You're married?" Barty asked once Dumbledore left. His eyes, those hazel-brown eyes that used to shine whenever he talked about his favourite book, eyed the ring around Regulus' left ring-finger.

"I am," Regulus said stiffly, remembering Irina's words.

"To whom? Is it that stupid harpy? The Parkinson girl? Or one of Greengrass' slutty cousins? Or is it Pucey's little sister?"

"It's none of your goddamn business. You're going to get the Dementor's kiss. You’d better worry about that instead."

But Barty didn't seem to listen or care. Letting out what almost sounded like a giggle, he said, "You know what, Reg? I used to be in love with you, you know. Heck, I _still_ am in love with you. But you _never_ noticed it. You've always been so wrapped up in your little world as Slytherin's little celebrity, our House’s favourite Prince, surrounded by all those girls who are _so_ beneath you."

"Bloody hell…" Sirius breathed, looking back and forth between Regulus and Barty. But the former wasn't paying attention to his brother.

"I know," Regulus said. "At least, I know that now. I should have known that you were the reason why all of my girlfriends would suddenly get sick out of the blue."

"You should have… But, oh well. No use dwelling on the past. You're married now to a silver-spooned Pureblood princess, popping Pureblood babies to continue your stinking lineage. And I'm going to get my soul sucked out by Dementors. We all have our new lives to deal with. _Joy._ "

Regulus knew he should leave it at that. He _knew_ that would be for the best.

But for some reason, his mouth made a last-second decision and decided to spill the beans to Barty.

"Irina is a Muggle, not a Pureblood," Regulus said before he could stop himself. "So that makes my daughter Astrid half-blood."

"SHE'S A _WHAT_?" Barty yelled, positively enraged. He looked like he was about to get up from the chair he was sitting on, but the three wands from Sirius, Remus and Snape seemed to change his mind. Clenching his jaw, he continued. "Reg, don't tell me you're marrying one of those, they’re filth. Don't tell me you've even _bedded_ one to produce another filth—"

Regulus had stopped listening.

"HOW DARE YOU CALL MY WIFE AND DAUGHTER 'FILTH'? THE ONLY FILTH AROUND HERE IS YOU, YOU DISGUSTING SNAKE!"

"YOU'VE SULLIED THE GREAT NAME OF THE BLACK FAMILY! FOR SALAZAR'S SAKE, MARRYING ONE OF THOSE HARPIES IS BAD ENOUGH ALREADY. YOU'RE MARRYING A _MUGGLE?_ "

"WATCH IT, PRICK. ONE MORE WORD AGAINST MY WIFE OR DAUGHTER, AND I'M GOING TO _KILL_ YOU."

"NOT IF I KILL _THEM_ FIRST! MARK MY WORDS, I'M GOING TO MAKE THEIR DEATHS SO PAINFUL. ESPECIALLY THAT BITCH YOU MARRIED, REG."

Regulus didn't even realise he'd taken out his wand. He didn't realise his wand was raised, and was aimed at his former friend. He didn't realise that he already had a spell in his mind, and the incantation was right on the tip of his tongue. That was until Sirius pushed his face in Regulus' line of sight, hands on each of Regulus' shoulder to stop himself from doing whatever stupid thing he might, a grim look on his face. "Don't do it, brother. If you do it, I'll be forced to drag your arse to Azkaban for murder."

" _Me?_ But he was the one who started it! He insulted my wife and daughter, Sirius! And then he _threatened_ to harm them! Let's see what _you_ would have done if someone insulted Marlene and your children, and threatened to kill them."

Sirius’ eyes hardened but he didn’t relent. "Yes, I understand that. Believe me, I do. But he's not going to do anything. He's going to go back to Azkaban tomorrow, and you're going to go back home to your family tonight. Everything's going to be alright, Reg."

"I think it’ll be wise if you ask your brother to leave, Black," Snape drawled to Sirius. "Lest he'll do something we will all regret."

"I agree," Remus quipped. Giving Regulus an apologetic smile, he said, "I'm sorry, Reg. But it's for the best. For _your_ best."

" _Fine_. I can't stand another second here anyway." Regulus headed for the door. But then he stopped, which prompted a few intrigued looks from everyone else. "Hey, Bart?"

"What?"

"Oh, it's nothing really. I just want you to know that I am head-over-heels in love with my wife. And I want you to go face the Dementors with the knowledge that not only you have lost me, but you have lost me to a _Muggle_ woman. I want that to be your last concrete thought before you turn loopy."

"You—"

"Now, if you'll excuse me, I have a wife and daughter to return to."

" _NO!_ REGULUS BLACK, COME BACK HERE THIS INSTANT. _REGULUS!_ YOU BLOODY BASTARD!"

As Regulus left the room where Barty was screaming his throat hoarse for Regulus to come back, he realised that he’d finally gotten the closure he’d always prayed for. Because, as he closed the door behind him without looking back, Regulus knew that that wasn't only the door that he was talking about. In a way, he was also closing the door to the past that he wanted no part of anymore.

And he closed it _firmly._


	10. Beware of the Fudge

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Cornelius Fudge proved he was a terrible person.

Luna knew, the moment Viktor came screaming out of the maze, that her nightmare was coming to life. The previous night when she’d woken up abruptly because of the dream she had, it was the first time in her whole life she’d felt truly _terrified_ of what she saw in her dream. The image of Cedric, lying lifeless on the ground, with his parents and Harry crying over Cedric's _dead_ body, was so vivid Luna thought it was real at first. She didn't even care that it was three in the morning when she rummaged through her trunk, searching for the old medallion her mother had given her back when she was only five. According to her mother, the medallion was the Fawley family heirloom, owned by generations of Fawley women since the seventeenth century. It was rumoured to be able to ward off all kinds of Dark Magic that could have harmed the Fawley women whenever their fathers, husbands or brothers wouldn't be able to protect them— even from the Killing Curse. The girl had to admit, even though she believed in a great many _absurd_ things, the idea that there was an object that was powerful enough to protect someone from the Killing Curse was too much even for her. However, she kept the medallion close to her at all times, because it was the last thing she had of her mother’s.

But when her fingers touched the medallion that was buried under all of her clothes, to avoid it getting stolen by her roommates, Luna could finally feel the powerful magic that was promised to her and all the other Fawley women before her. She knew that the medallion was the only thing that could protect Cedric, and even though she was still upset with him and had no idea when things would finally go back to normal between them, she immediately went to see him so she could give him the medallion. She wouldn't let all the ridiculous pride and ego she'd let build between them to stop her from saving him. Despite everything that had happened, Luna would still do _everything_ she could if it meant she'd be protecting Cedric.

_("Mummy, please don't let them take him away from me. Protect him, please…")_

It had been almost a month since the end of Triwizard Tournament. Both Harry and Cedric were declared joint winners, making it the first time ever having had _two_ Champions, _and_ from the same school no less. But almost no one cared about it. All of their attention was focused on the news Dumbledore gave, which was about the return of Voldemort. The Headmaster also told them about what had happened to both Cedric and Harry during the Third Task, who were still recovering in the Infirmary, and how they had both nearly died at the hands of Voldemort and his Death Eaters. However, Dumbledore was barely finished talking when the Minister for Magic came barging into the Great Hall with a group of Aurors, looking absolutely enraged, his face purple. The short man began yelling about how Dumbledore was lying, and that there was _no way_ Voldemort had returned. Fudge only stopped yelling when Regulus Black and Severus Snape stepped forward, pulling up the sleeves of their robes, and revealing the ugly tattoos that marred their arms.

" _Death Eaters!"_ Fudge had yelped, nearly tripping over his feet as he jumped backwards. "You two are Death Eaters!"

"I hardly think that's news, Minister," Snape drawled dryly. "After all, you were there at my _trial,_ weren't you? And there were week-long headlines about Regulus being a Death Eater."

"And that's not why we're showing you our Dark Marks, Fudge," Regulus said in an equally monotone voice. "These Marks here are proof that Lord Voldemort really _has_ returned. Dumbledore is telling you the truth."

Fudge wasn't listening though. Instead, he was yelling to the Aurors that were with him to arrest both Regulus and Snape. But just when the Aurors were about to move forwards, an invisible force threw them back powerfully, and they went flying a few feet away from the two former Death Eaters. It didn't take everyone long to realise that the powerful spell had come from Sirius Black's extended wand that he waved in an almost bored manner. Luna had only seen Sirius from his pictures on the cover of Daily Prophet, and he was always smiling in those pictures. But as the Auror made his way towards his brother, his every step exuding power that made nearly everyone else flinch, Luna thought the man was positively terrifying.

"Anyone who _dares_ to touch my brother, or even stinking Snivellus over there, will have to face _me,_ " Sirius said, his tone eerily calm. "And I promise, I will make it as painfulas possible."

"Black, surely you don't believe what Dumbledore said!" Fudge said, his pudgy fingers playing with the edge of his bowler hat. "By saying that You-Know-Who has returned, more or less you've just declared your _lack_ of proficiency in stopping him from coming back."

"But by saying the opposite, I'm calling my own Godson, the boy I've raised as my own flesh and blood since I was barely older than all these Hogwarts students, a _liar,"_ Sirius replied coolly, his grey eyes glinting so fiercely that they almost looked white. "And I will _always_ stand with Harry."

"He's just a boy! He couldn't possibly—"

Twenty wands were raised at an inhuman speed (half from those who were protecting the Minister, and the other half from Regulus, Remus, and some of the professors who were defending Sirius) when Sirius pointed his right between Fudge's eyes. But even the eight Aurors who’d come with Fudge looked hesitant when they raised their wands against their own Head Auror. Sirius didn't seem to care though. He merely tilted his head to the side and said, "My _son_ has done a lot more than you, you indecisive, cowardly arse. Voldemort is back, and you’ll have to deal with it. And if you keep denying it, I suggest you go and talk to Cedric Diggory's parents, whose son nearly _died_ because of Voldemort, and tell that to their face, Fudge."

"How dare you—"

"Of course, I dare. Although I'm no longer the Head of the Sacreds, I'm _still_ the Head of the Noble and Most Ancient House of Black. If I give the word, I can have all _fifty-four_ Pureblood families, not just the Sacreds, withdraw their financial support from the Ministry. You know no one messes with the Blacks, Fudge. So you better not mess with me."

Fudge looked beyond furious. But he paled in comparison to the fury behind Sirius' grey eyes. Looking around at all the people who were watching, he narrowed his eyes at Sirius and said, "You're going to regret this, Black. You're _not_ going to walk away after threatening the Ministry."

Sirius shrugged as he pocketed his wand and took a few steps back to stand beside his brother. "You may be the Ministry, Fudge. But we all know that _I_ am the British Wizarding World. Now leave."

Luna and everyone else watched silently as Fudge left the Hall with his Aurors, looking both angry and embarrassed. Then, as if nothing had happened, Sirius turned toward Dumbledore, and gave him a wink, to which Dumbledore replied with a chuckle. He embraced his brother with one hand, ruffling the younger Black's hair, much to the brother's utmost exasperation. Dumbledore then concluded his speech with a few words about unity, before telling them all to eat their dinner. Luna finished hers quickly because she wanted to see Cedric. Ginny told her, who’d heard it from Harry, that Cedric was finally awake after a week of being unconscious. The green-eyed boy told Luna's friend that the first thing Cedric said after waking up was that he refused to be visited by anyone but his parents. The Head Boy even made sure that he kept the curtains around his bed at all times to prevent Harry's visitors from taking a peek at him. Luna knew for a fact that Cedric's friends and Cho Chang had spent a lot of time waiting outside of the infirmary, begging to Madam Pomfrey to let them in so they could visit Cedric. But of course, Madam Pomfrey wouldn't let them. That was why Luna decided that she'd sneak out during the Great Feast, when everyone else, even Madam Pomfrey, would be too busy down in the Great Hall to notice her absence.

When she arrived in front of the door to the Infirmary, she knocked on the door a few times, only to receive no answer. But she heard the light rustling of bed sheets from inside the room, and she knew Cedric should be awake. Taking a deep breath, Luna pushed the door open and poked her head out from behind the door. "Cedric?" she called out in a small voice.

"What are you doing here?" Cedric said coolly, his head turned to the other side so that the unmarred side of his face was the only part anyone could see. " _Go away._ "

"No," Luna said flatly, inviting herself in. "I'm here for you. I'll _always_ be here for you. Like you always have been for me."

Her answer got him laughing, and she recoiled slightly upon hearing it, her steps faltering as she was making her way toward his bed. The sound of his laughter was unflattering, unlike the sound she was so used to hearing. His laughter, which used to sound warm and pleasant, sounded cold and brutal. When he finally turned to look at her, she tried hard not to flinch at the dead look in his eyes, both the blind and the good one. "You're here for _me_? Don't make me laugh, Luna. You're here to gloat, aren't you? You're going to laugh at me. I can't blame you though. It must be _nice_ to see the boy who very publicly broke your heart get the payback he deserves."

His words cut her deeply, more than she was willing to admit. But she knew he was miserable, so she tried to bear it for him. "You of all people should know that I don't revel in other people's suffering, Cedric. But it's okay. I understand you need to vent. You're hurt, and now you feel like hurting someone else. So, do it. Scream at me. Yell."

"You…"

Luna waited calmly for whatever he was going to say. But Cedric trailed off. Instead, he sighed and buried his face in his hands. It was much later when he finally lowered them, looking at Luna through heavy-lidded eyes. He flipped his palm open and reached it out towards her. Automatically, like she always had since she was nine and he was thirteen, she put her smaller hand inside his bigger one, always so trusting towards her Hufflepuff friend. A smile appeared on her face when his hand closed around hers, and her smile widened when he brought her hand to his lips, giving it a gentle kiss.

"You should hate me, you know," Cedric said in a small voice. "After all I've done to you, I deserve it. I _totally_ deserve it."

"No child deserves to get tortured for fighting the war of adults. And even though you feel like you're all grown up now, you're _still_ a child like me and everyone else in this school. So no, you don't deserve this. Not at all." Using her free hand to tap on their joined hands, Luna continued. "Besides, you're my friend. Regardless of what happened, you'll always be my friend first."

Smiling sadly, Cedric said. "You're too good, Princess. Too good to be true. Too good for me."

Luna returned his sad smile as she shrugged. "I'm just being a good friend."

Cedric sighed, closing his eyes tiredly. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry for what I said, Luna. I could give you a thousand excuses, but none of them would change the fact that I was horrible to you."

"I was hurt. It broke my heart," Luna admitted in a small voice. "But you're sorry and that's all that matters to me. Not talking to you _killed_ me, a lot more than the thought that you… that you didn't love me."

The older boy gave her another sad smile. He used one hand to cup Luna's face, caressing her skin softly as he whispered, "I _do_ love you, Luna. I never thought it was possible, but I do love my little Moon Princess. I always thought that I loved you like a little sister, but I was wrong. That was why it scared me. You're… you're four years younger than me. You're only fourteen. People would think I'd taken an advantage of you."

The Ravenclaw frowned, tilting her head to the side. "My mother was _thirteen_ years younger than my father. It mattered not to anyone."

"Yes, but she wasn't a kid, was she? She married your father when she was twenty, and had you when she was twenty-one. She wasn't fourteen."

"Well, I didn't ask you to marry me now, did I?"

"Yeah, but I _do_ want to marry you."

Luna froze. There weren't many things in her life that could render her speechless. She was the one who rendered people speechless. That was her role in life; her father always told her. But as Luna looked back into Cedric's eyes, both his beautiful pewter one and his damaged eye, she really didn't know what to say. Minutes passed by in silence, with the both of them staring into each other's eyes. She didn't even realise she was crying until Cedric wiped her tears away. Nuzzling her face in his hand, she whispered, "You're not lying, are you? You're not saying this to make me happy, right? Because, if you are lying, I swear to Merlin, it's going to _ruin_ me. Don't break my heart a second time, Cedric."

"Luna, no…" Cedric said, pulling the girl closer until she was burying her face in the crook of his neck. "I'm sorry for hurting you. I really am. But I promise, I'm _not_ lying. I'm not going to hurt you again. I love you, remember?"

"Sometimes love makes people do things they regret," Luna said, her voice muffled against the fabric of Cedric's shirt. "Things that would hurt their loved ones."

"And who told you that?" Cedric said, cupping Luna's face in his hands.

"That's what my mother did when she found out she was dying. She killed herself by intentionally setting her experiment to blow up. Mummy didn't want me and Daddy to know that she was dying from the lung sickness she suffered. _I_ knew it though. I saw her coughing up blood into her handkerchief, I saw the life slowing leaving her body, even through her Glamour. But she didn't know that by killing herself, she was hurting Daddy and me too. She didn't know that, when she robbed us of the chance to say goodbye to her."

"I'm sorry to hear that," Cedric said, planting a kiss on Luna's temple. "That's a terrible thing for you to know, and you've been keeping that knowledge a secret all these years… But like I said before, I'm serious this time. I love you, and I do intend to marry you one day. Maybe not now, or tomorrow, or even next year. But I will, I promise. After all, you _saved_ me. You saved my life when you gave me your medallion." Luna's eyes immediately went to the medallion that hung around Cedric's neck.

"But you saved me first, Ced. All those years ago when I was nine and you were thirteen."

"That makes it fair, then. Now all I have to do is to make sure you live a happy life. We really shouldn't waste all our hard work on saving each other's arses."

When Cedric winked at her, it was the first time since their huge fight that Luna laughed. She laughed, and laughed, and _cried_ , because her heart felt like bursting with all of the love and joy that she felt. "I… I uh… I don't know what to say."

Cedric shrugged, giving Luna a mischievous smile. "Just say you love me."

Luna thought her face would split when she beamed at him. Cedric scooted a bit to the side, and she climbed onto the spot beside him, curling herself against Cedric's chest, feeling like they were nine and thirteen again. Humming gently when she felt Cedric hug her, she then whispered the words that Cedric wanted to hear, the same words that she'd always wanted to say – _repeatedly._

"I love you, I love you, I love you, _I love you…_ "

_("Thank you, Mummy. Thank you for keeping Cedric safe.")_

* * *

Cornelius Fudge was furious. To say that he hated Sirius Black would be the understatement of the century. That arrogant, meddlesome _brat_ had always been a huge pain in the neck for him. When he heard from his predecessor, Millicent Bagnold, many years ago about the change of Black Heir from Sirius to his brother Regulus, who’d received the news from the late Orion Black himself, Fudge thought it was good riddance. Fudge remembered the older Black brother, who was five years his junior, and he remembered his last two years of absolute chaos because of Sirius and his equally annoying friends. Even before he became a Senior Minister, the thought that the Ministry would have to deal with Sirius once he took over his father's position as Head of the Sacreds was simply horrifying. Unfortunately, the unthinkable happened when Regulus died before his father did, giving Orion no choice but to put Sirius back in line as his Heir. Everyone thought it was very fortunate that Orion was quick enough to do that before his death in 1980, followed just a year later by his wife. But not Fudge. He knew just how troublesome Sirius could be.

When Bagnold retired in 1990, everyone rallied for Dumbledore to take over the position. However, like it had always been since the 1960s, the old man refused. Then it was a toss-up between Barty Crouch senior and Marlene Black, formerly McKinnon, as the next best candidates. But ever since Crouch had lost his popularity by sending his own son to Azkaban, people began to favour McKinnon over him. She would have been the Minister for sure, if it weren't for the fact that her partner was the Head of the Sacreds, which made her ineligible for fear of collusion between the two of them. That was when Fudge's name came up, as the third-in-line on the list of candidates. The first thing Fudge did on his first day at the office, however, wasn't making new laws or fundamental changes to the laws, like Bagnold did when she was elected. No, the first thing Fudge did as Minister was to gather as much dirt on Sirius as he possibly could. Even though Bagnold never complained about Sirius as the Head of the Sacreds, Fudge realised the same wouldn't be said about him and the Auror. Bagnold actually _liked_ Sirius, and the prick respected her in return. On the other hand, Fudge and Sirius couldn’t stand each other, even from the first five minutes they’d been in a room together. Fudge knew that it was only right that he gain some leverage against Sirius.

It was easier said than done though. Even if he discounted the fact that Sirius Black was Head of the Sacreds, Fudge doubted it would be easy to find anything unfavourable about the Auror. As a Black, everything about him was literally sealed tightly and kept safely in their one of their _many_ vaults in Gringotts. Fudge didn't give up so easily though. He immediately turned to the Daily Prophet and history books, hoping he'd find something about Sirius' ancestors instead. For the second time, Fudge didn't get any dirt on Sirius and his ancient family, except for the fact that they had a long history of inbreeding and a fondness towards the Dark Arts. However, what he found was rather important. He’d always known that both Sirius and Regulus were equally exceptional wizards. They’d showed signs of great power since they were no older than a toddler, back when they were first developing their magic. He never thought that it had to do with the fact that both brothers were descendants of the great fae of the Winter Court, Queen Mab. He found out that their magic was tied to the Black Manor and its vast property, especially the ancient Snow Tree that grew in the middle of the forest that surrounded the Manor. According to the books he read, if someone were to… _destroy_ the tree, it would greatly harm the brothers. Not to the extent of killing them, but enough to weaken their magic, for about five months to a year. It would also make them horribly sick, grave enough to put them bedridden for weeks.

It was the perfect solution to punish not only Sirius, but Regulus as well.

Fudge had to time it perfectly though. It would be near impossible to destroy the Tree during winter, seeing that everything about the Black property was winter-based. Not to mention, the Tree had the power to regrow itself rather quickly, although it would still take a whole year to do so, even if the magic of wintertime would help a great deal. Fudge realised that it would have to be done in the middle of the summer, and when the brothers weren't at the Manor. If the brothers were away, it would hurt them even more when the Tree was destroyed. Decision made, he quickly told his plan to his most trusted Minister, his Deputy back when he was still a Senior Minister. She was probably the only one out of all the Ministry officials who didn't look up to the Blacks as if they were Gods. He could even say that the woman probably wasn't at all fond of the almighty Black brothers. He'd talked to her already about his plan to hurt Sirius Black and the family he so loved, and when the woman's eyes glinted as she listened to his plan, Fudge knew his plan was solid.

He was _ready._

"Minister Fudge?" a sickeningly sweet voice said from behind the door to Fudge's office.

"Oh yes! Come in, come in!" Fudge answered enthusiastically.

The guest turned out to be a woman around Fudge's own age, and she was remarkably short. Everything about the woman was hideously _pink_ , and although she was the only one Fudge trusted, he couldn't deny the fact that his eyes hurt whenever he looked at her. But, despite her awful choice of wardrobe, and lack in height, Fudge wouldn't have chosen anyone else but her to do such an important task. The Minister eyed the woman who took a seat across from him, a big smile playing on her face, making her resemblance to a frog even more pronounced.

"I need your help," Fudge said, straight to the point. "I need you do something for me."

Tilting her head to the side, still smiling that obnoxious smile, Dolores Umbridge said, "Of course, Minister. What do you want me to do?"


End file.
